When the time came for Sean to have his first official meeting with the Primogen since becoming Prince, there were more than a few somber looks on the faces of the eight Kindred assembled there. All of those present were still adjusting to this new reality under a new Prince; not to mention their reactions to how they all had apparently grown so complacent since allegedly ridding themselves of the serpent that they had somehow allowed this tragedy to occur. Of course the most prevalent subject of the meeting was security and the plan Sean was now putting into action to make all their homes into nothing short of fortresses.

They all agreed to submit plans for their improved homes and requests for the needed materials to be shipped in on Haven’s, no Sean’s, boats as soon as time would possibly permit. They also agreed to supplying the manpower needed to patrol each border of their territory twenty-four seven, just to be sure that anyone else tied to their former Prince’s murder would have a very difficult time even getting close enough to cause any more damage.

After covering those two most pressing matters, they all were dismissed to get their plans and people in order immediately. After the last of the other clans’ Primogen left the meeting room, Sean finally moved his gaze to where Claire sat stone still and so silent that she had not spoken even once during the entire meeting. He sighed as he noted that her sullen silence had also been accompanied by her refusal to even look up from the table in front of them once in the hour they had been assembled there.

“I realize you’re new to being Primogen…” Sean began, though simply shook his head as he doubted that bringing attention to her already apparent mood would do much at all to improve it.

But as distant as she had seemed for the meeting as a whole, Claire was still as hyper aware of any of Sean’s actions or words as she had always been, which caused her to speak at last now that they were once again alone in the room “sorry, maybe you should find another Primogen” she managed, her bitterness and sadness vying for control of her tone.

“Would that I could” Sean sighed in response.

Claire sighed as well before she finally lifted her gaze from the tabletop in front of her for the first time in an hour. Though she still refused to allow those eyes to move to Sean despite how badly she wanted to take in his beauty, just as she always had “I suppose I should be getting out of your house now” she whispered as she tried to find the strength to push herself up from her seat.

“Claire, don’t do that” Sean replied, though his voice was too quiet for the statement to sound very authoritative.

“Sorry, I guess I’ve disappointed you again” she returned in the same broken whisper, though she did return to her previous position upon his request.

Sean just scoffed, though the sound was more sad than angry “when have you ever disappointed me?”

That was when Claire’s upset just inched out her sadness by the most miniscule amount as she answered “when I killed Viola. When I was first upset about our servants. When I let whatever happen to Ash happen. When I agreed to be Aidan’s mistress. When I embraced Aidan. When I was so angry at you and Awsha about that night onstage. When I refused to let Erica be embraced. When I disappeared into an opium haze for ten years. When I killed Avan. When I crumbled over you and Awsha again. When I questioned our relationship with the Denbouroughs. When I came to this meeting tonight and barely spoke. When I tried to leave just now…”

“God Claire, just stop!” Sean exclaimed though his volume barely pushed the words past his lips.

“It’s amazing you haven’t banished me for being such a failure as a wife” she whispered as she willed her emotions to stay in check.

Sean had to scoff again as he shook his head at all of that self-hatred she had apparently kept locked inside for over two centuries “I’m hoping that was all sarcasm. Because I really don’t need another insane Primogen right now” though Claire said nothing more as she had now returned to staring a hole in the table once more. After another long moment, Sean spoke again “you do realize that the reason I’ve been so distant is because I’m trying to do everything I can to keep from losing anyone else?” he finished in a whisper.

Claire simply scoffed “distant? You can’t even stand having me under the same roof as you” she added in another hoarse whisper.

“You know that’s not true, Claire” Sean denied sadly.

“Sure seems true” she managed in a nearly inaudible tone.

But before Sean could even make an attempt to assure her further, a servant gently rapped at the still ajar door “there’s someone who’s been waiting to see you” the young girl informed softly, her tone apologetic as she saw the looks on the faces of both her Prince and his wife.

“To see me?” Sean managed to just barely cover his annoyance at the interruption after casting Claire one more sad glance.

“She says she’s Kindred and new to your territory. She’s come to present herself to you” the servant offered quietly.

“My territory” Sean scoffed, though his words were nearly too quiet for the servant to make out. He then cast one more look down at Claire as he forced his way to his feet to attend yet another duty that would take him away from the only person he had ever wanted to attend to.

Upon stepping into the main room where this new Kindred waited, Sean couldn’t help being a bit thrown by her beauty. It was not so great that it caused that unfortunate entrancement to take him over, but it was striking enough to cause him to take pause for more than a moment as she turned to grace him with a smile upon his approach.

She dressed well enough, though her clothing took second place to her appearance. She stood at a mere 5’5” with dark brown waves that nearly reached her waist and equally dark eyes “Prince Sean?” she asked with yet another smile as he took a few steps closer.

Sean shook his head at that greeting as he was hardly used to his title, or content with it just yet “and you are?”

“Eliza Devereaux” she offered as she curtsied slightly and moved to offer her hand “I’ve come to announce my presence in your territory” she clarified with another faint smile.

Sean glanced over her once more before warily moving to take her hand, watching her cautiously the entire time. Then with even further caution inspired by all the tragedy that had taken place in what was now his territory, Sean didn’t even ask her for any further information. Instead, he immediately moved to read her aura, which was thankfully visible to Sean and showed him that her most prevalent emotion was nervousness; though that came with a smattering of the desire that most others couldn’t help feeling for him due to that magnetism Haven’s blood had graced him with over two centuries ago.

Receiving little to no information from those two emotions, Sean braced himself and delved deeper into her mind; past her aura and into her thoughts. He still always felt guilty about using that ability on anyone at all, considering the very strong reservations Claire had always had to the idea. But he was indeed Prince now, and with Haven’s death as well as the prophesied doom coming to his soul mate at some time still unknown to them, he could not afford to leave anything at all to chance ever again.

After a long moment of staring into Eliza’s expectant eyes looking up at him, Sean spoke again “you were born in Massachusetts in…1585?” he raised a brow at that, ignoring her look of surprise at his knowledge, he continued “you were embraced in 1612… by a Toreador?” his voice raised slightly on that fact “the war chased you west after your mortal family was gone. You settled in a small town quite far north of here but decided to come here when it got too dangerous for our kind? There were some attacks there?”

Eliza just looked at him in wide-eyed amusement “wait are you asking me something now? I think you got it all covered on your own” she allowed a slight smirk “you could do a stage show with that kind of skill” she added with another nervous laugh.

But before Eliza and Sean could continue their conversation, their eyes both turned to where Claire had now moved from her place in the doorway to the meeting room. She then hurried past them both and toward the front door of Haven’s home without offering either of them a word in regards to the conversation she had just witnessed.

“She doesn’t seem very happy” Eliza stated awkwardly once Claire had exited the home.

“I doubt that has anything to do with you, specifically” Sean told her apologetically as he worriedly looked after Claire’s hurried departure as well.

“I hope not. I just got here after all” Eliza attempted lightness as she looked back up at her new Prince for some idea of where she was meant to go and what was meant to be done with her now that she was the newest addition to his territory.

Sean sighed again as he cast one more look at the door, then turned his pale blue eyes back to the brown ones which looked up at him from where Eliza stood nearly a foot shorter than him “so you’re a Toreador who was embraced only fourteen years after…my current Primogen?”

“Maybe?” she responded, and then added “I can’t tell you for sure, since I don’t know your Primogen; and my mind reading isn’t quite as honed as yours” she offered Sean another smile.

“That was my current Toreador Primogen, Claire” he informed, though his smile did not quite make it to his lips.

“The unhappy girl?” Eliza asked with a slight biting of her lip as she cast another look at the front door then as well.

“Well, she is currently a bit unhappy over the fact that she has to stay at the Toreador haven” he gave that extremely abbreviated explanation of Claire’s current mood.

“Oh dear, is it that horrible?” Eliza asked worriedly as she knew that she would most likely be expected to stay there as well, at least temporarily.

“No, it’s actually rather nice” Sean assured. He then sighed again and added “she just misses having her husband there with her” he explained softly.

“And where is her husband?” Eliza asked warily.

Sean allowed another sad sigh “attending to other extremely pressing duties.”

“Must be some duties to keep him away from a woman that beautiful” Eliza offered with another small smile.

Sean almost seemed to flinch at her words, but hid it as quickly as he could “if you turn out to fit in here rather nicely, maybe you could alleviate some of that sadness” he told her thoughtfully.

“And how am I meant to do that?” Eliza asked, trying to hide her own interest in what he could possibly mean.

“Well, you’ll be staying there with her. And you’re almost as old as her. If you can gain her trust, as well as mine of course; we might be able to work out a way to reunite her with her husband” he informed with the same thoughtfulness, sad though his tone couldn’t help remaining.

“Not sure I follow” Eliza returned with another questioning look.

“If we find we can trust you, perhaps you could play hostess to your new clan mates for Claire. That would leave her able to be near her husband once again” he suggested with as much hope as he could muster in light of the way in which Claire had made her exit only moments before.

“So, I’d be like a substitute Primogen? Just there to be the one to welcome new clan members, while Claire was still the real Primogen who serves on your council and all?” Eliza asked with more interest then.

“Like I said, if you prove we can trust you” Sean reiterated, though managed a faint smile.

Eliza couldn’t help a small chuckle as she looked up at him in admiration “you would create this new role of sorts, for me? Just to make your current Primogen happier?”

Sean looked down only a moment before answering “I would do just about anything to make her happy.”

When Eliza made her way to the Toreador haven that evening, she warily stepped through the door with her belongings and offered a tentative smile to her hostess. Claire had been sitting there staring out that window at the nighttime ocean once again. She turned only slightly at Eliza’s entrance as the other woman let the door fall shut behind her as she set her few bags upon the floor.

“I guess this is my new home. At least for a while” she greeted Claire with a smile as she moved toward the couch, offering her hand “Eliza Devereaux.”

Claire swallowed slightly, her upset still quite apparent. Nevertheless she stood and took the other girl’s hand “Claire…Beringer” she added her and Sean’s surname in a near whisper, not even feeling like she had the right to claim it as her own on that particular evening.

“So…” Eliza looked around with a bit of remaining nervousness “the Prince wanted me to tell you that if you and I get along well enough, he might be able to create a new role for me” she attempted to break the ice as she warily took a seat further down from where Claire had now reclaimed her own.

“That’s nice of him” was all Claire could manage, her eyes moving back to the window.

“Well, it’s yet to be decided. He said it does depend on whether you’d approve as well” Eliza continued as she studied Claire’s aura, just barely being able to make out much of it at all, as Claire was older than her. Though even without the faintness of her aura, it was more than obvious that Claire was quite sad.

“I don’t know why it would depend on me” Claire stated in the same soft, distracted tone.

“Because I would be taking on part of your current role for you” Eliza attempted to clarify.

That did cause Claire to look back her way “what part would that be?”

“He said that if I proved myself trustworthy then…”

“Why would you have to prove anything? Sean’s already read your thoughts, hasn’t he?” Claire interrupted with a bitterness that wasn’t specifically directed at Eliza right then.

Eliza looked down slightly before speaking “I think it’s still important to him that you approve too.”

“Well, I’m not the mind reader, so…” Claire stated, leaving it at that as she turned back to the nighttime scene outside her window again.

“Nevertheless, he wants to be sure you trust me too, before giving me the part of your role that would force you to stay in this house” Eliza attempted to comfort Claire further.

Those words did cause another crack in Claire’s composure as she looked back at the other woman once more “he’s trying to find a way to get me out of this house?” she asked, trying not to take that in the worst possible way, though her current mood did not make that easy.

“He said that being here away from your husband was making you very sad. So he wants to find some way to fix that for you” Eliza offered with another smile “he actually said he’d do anything to make you happy.”

Claire closed her eyes a moment as she processed the words, along with other less pleasant discoveries she had made about her husband that night “Sean actually said that?”

Eliza smiled and nodded “I think our Prince might actually be in love with you” another smile “which does make it just a little strange that he would be so eager to reunite you with your husband” she added more thoughtfully.

Claire couldn’t help a tiny chuckle then “so I guess you’re not as good at mind reading as Sean either?”

“Pardon?” Eliza asked, thrown by that question.

“Never mind” Claire smiled again as she looked away, though her smile was also marred by fear. Though her fear was no longer just a fear of that prophecy taking her away from Sean. But now she was equally terrified of his newfound ability causing him to see more deeply into her than she had ever thought he was capable of before that night; and if he could see that one great sin, Claire was sure that there would be no love left for those snakes to try and devour after all.