“Back to my questions,” Robert said. “How long have you had the ability to sense vampires?”
“You can’t compel me to answer, Robert.”
“No, I can’t,” he said. “However, I can explain my reasons for asking. Wererats have certain advantages when it comes to covert work.”
The wererats were quiet and stealthy, and they could dislocate their bones in a pinch, which let them hide in very small places. A lot of Jim’s surveillance people came from Clan Rat.
When not sure which way the conversation was going, say something vague and flattering. “Clan Rat is well-known for its uncanny stealth.” So help me, I sounded like Curran. The Pack had slowly driven me out of my mind.
The anxiety stabbed me like a knife.
Curran was okay. Worrying about him wouldn’t help him be okay, it would just make me distracted. I had to disconnect from it.
“We also have our own network of information gatherers,” Robert said. “We get our information from two channels: official briefings from Jim and from our own people. There was always a gap between the information coming to us from Jim and through our own channels. Since you moved into the Keep, that gap substantially widened.”
Robert waited.
I didn’t say anything. My patience was wearing thin. I could just imagine Barabas’s voice in my mind. Alienating Clan Rat was not a good idea. They were the second-largest clan . . .
“Consort?” Robert asked.
Oh, so we’re back to “Consort” now. “So you’re upset, because you feel Jim is holding back information?”
“I have proof he is.”
I would have to word this carefully. Diplomacy wasn’t my strongest suit, but I had a good memory and I’d read the Pack’s code of laws cover-to-cover several times. “Has his withholding of information impeded your ability to effectively govern your clan or compromised the safety of your clan’s members?”
“If you’re quoting Article Six . . .” Robert began.
I was quoting Article Six. It outlined the duties of the Pack’s chief of security. “Please answer my question.”
“Not yet,” Robert said. “However, we’re concerned it might.”
“Until it does, as Consort, I’m not obligated to take any action.”
“She’s right,” Desandra said.
Robert glanced at her.
She shrugged. “I’ve read the book.”
Robert’s eyes narrowed. “I can take my concerns to the Council and make it very difficult for you to avoid questions.”
The best defense is a good offense. “We both know that doing so will predispose Curran and me against Clan Rat.”
“We’re already marginalized!” Robert said.
“How are you marginalized?” Desandra gaped at him. “You’re the second-largest clan in the Pack!”
“Yes, we are, but when it was time to go retrieve the panacea, our clan wasn’t represented.” He raised his hand and began counting on fingers. “The delegation included Clan Heavy, Clan Bouda, Clan Nimble, Clan Wolf, Clan Cat . . .”
Oh my God. “The jackals didn’t go either.”
“The jackals didn’t ask to go. We specifically requested a place and we were cut from the list.”
“It wasn’t a plot against you. You were cut from the list because I was under pressure from Aunt B and I asked Curran to make space for her.”
“That’s precisely my point! You’re biased against our clan, because we voted against you when Curran fell into a coma.”
I couldn’t believe it. “Are you serious?”
“Yes!”
“This is ridiculous.”
Robert shook his head. “No, it’s not at all ridiculous. When Jim provided us with the report of your trip to the Black Sea, it didn’t contain three things. One, it said nothing about your prior relationship with Hugh d’Ambray, which obviously existed. Two, it didn’t include the fact that you and Hugh d’Ambray had dinner in private. Three, it completely omitted the vision everyone experienced at the final dinner.”
“What vision?” Desandra asked. “The one where you hacked people to pieces?”
I glared at her. “Thank you for confirming his paranoia.”
“You’re welcome,” she said. “I do what I can.”
Robert must’ve been holding back for a while, and now he kept going like a runaway train. “I have a responsibility to my clan. These are my people. Nothing will deter me from advocating on their behalf. This lack of disclosure combined with your personal bias—”
“I don’t have a personal bias, but you are working on it.”
“—with your personal bias is dangerous for my clan. I want to know the nature of your relationship with Hugh d’Ambray . . .”
“He wants to screw her, because she beat the shit out of him and they both have daddy issues over the same guy,” Desandra said.
Robert froze midword, blinked, and looked at me. “Hugh d’Ambray is your brother and the two of you are sexually involved?”
Why me, why? “Desandra, you know what, don’t help me anymore.”
“I got tired of listening to him,” she said.
“Will one of you explain this to me?” Robert demanded.
I had enough. “You really want an honest explanation?”
He faced me. “Yes.”
“Okay. Hugh serves Roland, who is the leader of the People.”
“I know who Roland is,” Robert said.
“Good, then this will be easier. Roland wants to rule. He is five thousand years old, he possesses godlike magic power, and he doesn’t believe the word ‘no’ applies to him. Hugh is his warlord. Think of him as a huge unstoppable wrecking ball. Where Roland points, Hugh smashes. Right now Roland is pointing at the Pack. He has fought shapeshifters in the past and they kicked his ass, so he wants to nip you in the bud. Hugh is here to smash you. Would you like to know exactly what Hugh thinks of you? He thinks you’re dogs.”
Robert bared his teeth.
“If he can’t make you sit, he has no use for you. He will put you down—child, elderly, pregnant, doesn’t matter—and treat himself to an extra beer at dinner to celebrate a job well done. He can’t be bribed, he can’t be reasoned with, and he is damn near impossible to kill. Curran broke his back and threw him into a fire that had melted solid stone. But here he is.”
I paused to grab a breath. “Hugh and I were trained by the same person. I’m better than he is. In a one-on-one fight, I’ll kill him and he knows it. He wants me, my sword, and my magic. While we were at the Black Sea, he showed me a room full of shapeshifters and told me he would slaughter every single one of them for a chance to have dinner with me.”
Desandra shrugged. “That’s kind of hot. In a sick way.”
I ignored her. “Jim, who saddled me with a squad of bodyguards to go to the Conclave, didn’t put up much of a fight when I decided to go off on this fun adventure. He knows that when I became Curran’s mate, I promised to put myself between the Pack and Hugh. He expects me to do my job. I’m here doing it. I’m your best defense. So if we come across him and Hugh takes me down, you need to run.”
The two of them looked at me.
“I mean it. If I’m out of the picture, you need to go and you’ll need to drag Derek and Ascanio out of there, because they won’t leave me. Do not stay. Do not fight. Just grab the two kids and go. That’s as much information as I’m going to share with you. I have to stop this war from happening. Let me do my job and if you would like to be upset about how I went about it, you can address your grievances to my grave or to me in person at the next Council. Until then, I don’t want to deal with any more politics. It’s making my job more difficult and it’s hard enough as is. That’s an order.”