It took me twenty minutes to lay everything out up to the point of meeting Emily in Dallas. Cyprian called in Cornelia to take notes, and two other vampires listened from chairs along the wall. "I trust Emily more than Alexander," I said. "Her motivation makes sense. If they are holding the two and it gets out, she knows your Council will destroy her Coven. By coming forward to me, then to you, she hopes to escape the punishment coming without betraying her Master."

Cyprian leaned back in his chair. "She betrayed him to you," he said.

"Least evil of the options," I said. "When we arrived, you called the...