---
But Selene was not foolish. She asked it because she knew Klaus wanted it asked. Power liked to be acknowledged publicly.
Klaus looked at her with a calm that could have been affection if he were capable of it.
"Because," Klaus said, "whoever takes that blood becomes stronger than the other originals."
The hall felt colder again.
That was the true reason.
Not safety.
Not in order.
Not in justice.
Power.
Klaus lifted one hand slightly, fingers relaxed.
A thin thread of red appeared in the air, as if blood itself had been drawn from the atmosphere. It twisted slowly, forming a symbol that looked like a spiral wound.
"This is Blood God's legacy," Klaus said. "It does not belong to the weak. It does not belong to the accidental. It only belongs to us… the blood sovereign."
Selene's eyes flicked to the symbol, then back to Klaus.
Klaus's voice sharpened slightly.
