“You may go,” Louis-Cesare said. “She cannot. She has been formally accused.”
“You have no right to judge her!”
“On the contrary, the treaty clearly states—”
“That you need two witnesses, and at senatorial level, for one of her rank! You have one, and his motive can easily be called into question.”
For the first time, Louis-Cesare looked confused. “What motive?”
Caedmon’s own sneer was actually pretty good, if a bit worrisome. Usually he was Mr. Calm-and-Collected while the rest of us went to pieces, but not now. “Lord Mircea brings suit against my sister, and then graciously offers to drop the charges in return for me dropping my claim to his daughter. I know how such games are played, vampire, and better than you.”
“You are accusing Lord Mircea of lying?”
And, uh-oh. Louis-Cesare’s voice had just gone very quiet, which was usually the prelude to letting his rapier do the talking. But he was injured, and Caedmon was . . . Caedmon . . . and there’d been enough bloodshed tonight. I started trying to forge a path between the guards, who weren’t budging.
“All packed, then?” That was the consul, suddenly moving forward on her own, without her guards, but with a creepy smile on her face. I couldn’t see it, being behind her, but Caedmon’s reaction was eloquent.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Your sister. You did say she was leaving us?”
“I—yes. We both are. I’ll be taking her with me.”
“Very well. I should like to wish her a safe journey. If she is available?”
“I . . . will go and check.”
Someone touched my shoulder, and I looked around to find Mircea standing behind me. He pulled me over beside some yellow-and-white-striped chairs, but we didn’t sit down. He put a hand on my cheek and looked into my eyes like he was trying to see something behind them.
Or someone.
“Are you all right?”
“She’s not here,” I said irritably.
“That’s not what I asked.”
“I’m fine. What’s going on?”
“It’s . . . complicated.”
It usually was around here. I decided to cut to the chase. “Am I free to go? Or are they planning to pull out some fingernails first?”
A small frown appeared on the otherwise unlined forehead. “You helped the consul, possibly saved her life. If you hadn’t realized that thing was riding her, and disrupted its concentration—”
“I also got a blade in her. How long has it been since that happened?”
Mircea’s lips quirked. “Some time, I believe. But it was preferable to the alternative.”
“So I’m free to go?”
“In a moment.”
Why did I know he was going to say that?
“First I wish to hear about Dorina. You said she was talking to you. Has she done that before?”
“Not directly.”