Page 161 of Vampire's Choice
Ruth didn’t resist Anwyn’s touch, but she wouldn’t let her pull her back into her seat. “Did you dispute the bond between my brother and his Fae servant?” she demanded. “Did you oppose the Fae sentence that was intended to kill him?”
No. They hadn’t. Adan had survived the Guardian training that no one had thought he would survive. In so doing, he proved that things didn’t have to be what people expected them to be.
But still, they persisted in acting like they did.
Lady Carola and Lord Belizar’s expressions said Ruth was about to get a more strident set-down, though for Belizar she thought her offense was the protocol breach. The color in Carola’s cheeks, the thinness of her lips, said Ruth was disagreeing with what was beyond dispute, and that wouldn’t be tolerated.
“She’s endured enough today to earn some latitude, I believe,” Lady Helga interjected smoothly, drawing attention away from her. “She’s young, but she’s correct on one thing. It’s not the first time we’ve had to come to grips with different relationships. Lady Lyssa herself set the precedent with an open declaration of her love for Jacob, her bond with him.”
Lady Carola and Lord Stewart gave her a frosty look. Apparently, it wasn’t something they wished to be reminded of.
“That’s a far different matter, as Lady Lyssa herself has proven,” Carola said. “She holds the upper hand with Jacob and never allows his influence to change the decisions she makes as queen and member of this Council. To suggest otherwise would imply the Council needs to take a further look at it.”
Helga’s eyes narrowed. “We didn’t always believe that, Carola, or do you not remember? And do not threaten our queen. You’ve seen how well that turns out for Council members. She has not hesitated to deliver that lesson, even during a meeting. You were there, I believe?”
Carola blew out a ferocious breath. “What point are you trying to make?”
“Anyone we bond with has the opportunity to help us see things differently. In the right way.” Helga glanced toward the opposite end of the chamber. The servants of the Council members stood in silent formation along that wall. A straight line could be drawn between each servant and their seated Master or Mistress. Helga’s gaze lingered on her own servant, Torrence, before it returned to Kaela, then came back to the rest of the Council.
“As Lady Kaela said, she has proven herself an exemplary overlord. Brutal when needed, fair always. We’ve heard from many in her territory supporting that. Voices that far outweigh one malcontent who leaves recorders where they might document incriminating information.”
“The matter with Lady Kaela is written into our law,” Lord Stewart said impatiently. “The evidence has been provided, and it only requires a Council majority to pass sentence.”
“You’ve brought up an interesting philosophical debate, Helga,” Welles noted, “But Stewart is correct. The law stands as it stands. I support sending her to Lord Zixin in China. She’s too valuable and intelligent to lose, and he has the right disposition to handle the matter.”
Ruth’s trembling knees couldn’t hold her any longer. She’d sunk back down into the chair, Jessica’s hand on her back, Anwyn’s still resting on her arm. She felt their sympathy, saw in their faces they didn’t agree with what was happening. But none of them had any standing to impact it. If she spoke again, she would be removed. She knew it.
Maybe that would be preferable.
The Council voted in favor of Welles’ motion, with only one dissenting vote, Lady Helga. “You would vote for the first option, for her to die with her servant?” Lord Belizar asked. “It should be clarified for the minutes.”
He nodded toward a scribe, an Inherited Servant at a small desk to the right of the Council horseshoe.
Lady Helga gazed at Kaela as she spoke. “Yes. I also think we should change the law going forward, to give the vampire the choice to refuse conditioning.”
Kaela was so pale Ruth wasn’t sure how she was standing, except Garron stood close enough that her back brushed his chest. She wasn’t leaning, but the contact said she was aware of the support. The servant’s eyes lifted and locked with Belizar’s. “For being this goddamn stupid, your race will eventually be annihilated. And no one will fucking miss it.”
Kaela’s head had bowed in an attitude of defeat. Of exhaustion. Garron’s undamaged hand went to her shoulder, holding. Ruth couldn’t speak, the lump in her throat too large. Oh, Great Father…
Lord Belizar’s expression had gone flat. Emotionless. He motioned to Borgas. “Escort her servant to the courtyard. We will adjourn there for his execution. Which will be handled quickly and painlessly,” he added, giving Borgas a look that said he’d be heeded, or there’d be hell to pay.
Kaela’s head snapped up, her anguished eyes meeting the Russian’s. Lord Belizar’s jaw tightened. “I will grant you a mercy, Lady Kaela. You may choose to carry out the sentence according to our laws, or return to your rooms to prepare for the journey to China. The honor guard will handle it. That choice is yours.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The five miles between the portal exit and the location where Uthe believed Lyssa’s son and Mason’s daughter might be held were heavily forested. Tree branches and foliage pressed in on them as they emerged. There was no path.
“I miss Adan’s mapping ability,” Maddock said with a grunt, holding the branch that had smacked him in the face away from Lady Lyssa’s as she stepped past it. “He could have gotten us closer.”
“Stealth is probably a good call,” Merc observed.
“Yeah. So was yours on Yvette. I’m not seeing latex and stiletto boots working here. Though she might have been able to use that whip of hers like a machete.”
Merc offered a grim half-smile. Maddock and Yvette routinely goaded one another to justify their magical sparring matches, bouts that risked severe injury but both enjoyed too much to give them up. Merc was sure Maddock was hoping he’d pass the comment on to the Circus Mistress to draw her wrath.
Just as Yvette would have done, Merc was sure, Lady Lyssa had changed into hunter gear; black tank, brown cargo pants, thick soled boots, her hair braided and coiled on her neck. She was used to being prepared to fight, a reassuring thought.
Her head was up, eyes searching the thick canopy above them. “This forest is old. The type of place a Fae would seek, if they were in our world.”