[She and Helen would have gotten along, he thought. Helen, herself, had put an end to the last of the vampires, but she'd only done so because she didn't believe there was a choice. They were too dangerous, too willing to kill for a taste of power. If she'd thought there was another way, she would have taken it. He knew her well enough to know that.
Nikola was different. He'd been human. He had the same drives, the same ambitions, but he was different. It wasn't just the power he wanted. He knew the world could be better. It just needed new management.]
I manage. [It bothered him more than he was letting on, but he was much better at controlling his temper these days. That little lapse in Rome had brought him back to his senses.]
They suffered for it. [Sometimes, just sometimes, there was something dark in his eyes, a small reminder that he could be dangerous if he chose.] The Dark Ages. Progress came to a halt. We had so much left to learn from them, so much they could have taught us.