Being comfortable using magic in front of other people was one thing. But Fatima still felt fairly cagey about her persona background. The Sabbat felt like she was an unholy thing. That sense of being wrong, being dirty, had always passed along through the Merali bloodline. Not in a conscious way. But there was always that undercurrent. And now that she knew vampires were actually out and about in town, she needed to be careful.

Marcel already knew. That was bad enough.

"It's complicated," she said, eager to sidestep the issue for the time being. "But you seemed to hold your own pretty well," she added. Always talk about the other person, never yourself. Who'd taught her that? She couldn't remember. "Thanks for the help."