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“No, I want the two of you to hang back about fifty yards, so Robert and I can have a conversation.”
“But . . .” Ascanio began.
“Hang back,” I told him, sinking an order into my voice.
“You heard her,” Derek said.
“I’m going,” Ascanio said.
They went back a few feet. We resumed our trot through the glass labyrinth.
Desandra laughed under her breath. “So this is what a boy bouda is like.”
“Usually they’re worse,” Robert said. “I’ve known Raphael since he was six and I was eleven. He was insufferable as a teenager. Beautiful, but so high maintenance. Ascanio is typical.”
“The boudas feel like outsiders,” I said for Desandra’s benefit. “There aren’t that many of them and the chance of loupism runs high within their clan, so every child is a precious gift spoiled rotten. But Ascanio is in a class by himself. It’s a long story.”
“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.”
