"And I envy you," Coward murmured quietly. "Magic still at your fingertips..."

He chose to become a vampire. His mortality was not taken from him. But it was a choice made under extreme duress. It allows him to serve his Shepherd still, yes, and he doesn't regret it. But he's allowed to somewhat mourn the loss of the power he loved and the politics he knew. In the vampire society, he is still young, scraping for every bit of influence he can achieve.

"And a seat on the Night Council. A way to affect real change."