How are you feeling now?” Zeda asked Lucian on their way to the meeting an hour later. Shane was driving, and Carrie was riding shotgun.

She and Carrie had helped him get to his house in a cab, where a worried Shane had been waiting. She had kept him company after he freshened up and Carrie had quickly prepared a meal for them all.

“Better,” Lucian replied with a deep sigh. “But it will probably take a day or two before I regain my full energy.”

“That means you have to rest and ...