"I didn't say otherwise," he countered, finally flipping to a page on one of his forefathers. It was easy to see the Eytinge features, even Leon sported them. The high cheeks, the stern, icy eyes. They even had the same scowl, he noted, as the picture moved about. "And they did it for power, mostly. Because they could, or thought it was the right thing to do." He shrugged, flipping the page as he yawned a little.

"It isn't rude," he went on, though, glancing up at Avery. "And you can claim that your family hasn't intermarried all you like, but I won't buy it until I see the family tree myself."

Turning back to the book, he flicked through a few more pages with a disinterested sort of frown. "I didn't marry her, if you must know, because I was nine, and she had the voice of maul in heat."