“Stab all the wizards in the back,” I corrected. “Elves plus vampires outnumber us, even if the were-shifters are on our side. That leaves the fae as the wizards’ only hope, and they’re busy with their own power struggle.”
Alex pushed his chair back and paced around the table. “You’re wrong about one thing. Mace isn’t trying to kill Rand; he’s trying to control him.”
That didn’t make sense. “Why would he want to control him if he’s getting him thrown off the council?”
Alex took a deep breath. “Mace doesn’t want Rand off the council either. Zrakovi came to me with a deal. And you aren’t gonna like it any better than I do.”
This sounded bad. Really bad. “What kind of a deal?”
“I keep my job. You keep your job, with basically a slap on the wrist for not revealing the true nature of your bond with Rand. Rand keeps his seat on the council.”
It was my turn to slump back in my seat. That all sounded good. Too good. “Drop the other shoe. In return for all this, what is it that Zrakovi wants?”
“It isn’t what Zrakovi wants, but what Mace has demanded in exchange for not tearing the whole goddamned Interspecies Council apart.”
I raised an eyebrow in an unspoken what.
“Mace wants Eugenie.”
The other shoe dropped right on my best friend’s head. If Mace had control of Eugenie, and by extension Rand’s unborn son, he controlled Rand. No doubt about it. He’d found the only thing that would bring Rand to heel. Then, once the baby arrived, he’d kill Eugenie. She’d have no further use to him and her potential to bring charges against him would pose a threat.
My rage level had been tamped down for a while, but it took only seconds for it to boil again. “And if we refuse to turn Eugenie over to Mace?”
Alex closed his eyes. “I’m to take you into custody and deliver you to the hearing tonight, pending charges of conspiracy to manipulate the Interspecies Council. If I don’t go along with it, we’ll both be charged.”
Damn it. A week ago, I might have begged for forgiveness and tried to figure out how I could make things right with Zrakovi. A week ago, I’d have sworn I was loyal to the wizards, to my own people.
But this was now, and I felt pure, ice-cold fury.
“So, how do we do this? Do you put me in handcuffs?”
Alex took his seat again and twisted the plastic water bottle between his fingers. “I haven’t agreed to anything. DJ, I don’t know what to do.”
His misery and conflict and indecision wafted over to me and settled on my shoulders like a mountain of lead. “Will Adrian’s testimony make any difference at all? I mean, it proves Mace is manipulating Zrakovi.”
“Maybe. It’s our only hope. Who’s going to deliver it, though? Who would the council believe wasn’t biased in some way? Or wouldn’t face more charges of harboring a fugitive?”
Oh boy. Here was the part I didn’t want to tell him. “The Faery Prince of Winter, Christof, has agreed to present the testimony and verify its authenticity.”
If we weren’t all on the way to hell in one big handbasket, I’d have laughed at Alex’s expression.
“Well, that’s…” He paused as if searching for the right word. “Interesting.”
I laughed. “Yeah, but kind of brilliant. Who’s going to argue with him and risk pissing off the potential future fae monarch?”
There was one more loose cannon we needed to talk about. “What about Rand?”
Alex shrugged. “There’s a subpoena out for him, too, but we haven’t found him yet. Zrakovi is working with Mace Banyan to see if he’s in Elfheim.”
Mace Banyan might not like what he found. I had a feeling everyone sold Quince Randolph short. I had once, when we bonded. Now I knew better.
“Would you get in more trouble if you weren’t able to find me before the council meeting?” The real question is whether he would lie and say he hadn’t been able to reach me.
Alex had been staring out the window, but slowly turned to look at me. “Come to think of it, I don’t think I have been able to find you. You never answered your phone, and I’ve left messages, you careless woman.” He paused. “Go to Old Orleans so you can’t be tracked, just for now. If you don’t show up at the meeting and Mace gets exposed, everything might settle down. Give me time to do some damage control.”
My heart almost broke at that; it felt swollen and heavy in my chest. Alex was going to lie for me. He was going to protect me from the people who should be my allies, but weren’t. Neither of us said it, but it could very well make things bad for him.
“I love you.” I’d never thought the first time I said those words to him I’d be crying.
“Me too.” He smiled to make up for those words guys had such trouble saying, for some reason. “Do you know where Eugenie is?”
I nodded. “Hiding out at the Monteleone, for now. I might have Jean take her to Old Barataria.”