Page 72 of Maksym

Maksym watched the change in me. He saw it; I knew he did, because his own expression altered with something like relief and something like pride, both carefully contained and neither successfully hidden.

“I was there and was a part of it,” he said. “The broad shape is this: an Alpha wolf shifter died. Nikolay was involved. Maddie is Nikolay’s fated mate. The circumstances surrounding her rescue and the Alpha’s subsequent death will be brought before the Supernatural Council. The Council maintains order across species. Vampires, wolves, witches, demons, angels, and others, when necessary. Its authority is political, ancient, and occasionally absurd.”

“Court, then,” I said.

“In a manner.”

“Rules of evidence?”

“Different rules.”

“Advocacy permitted?”

“Yes.”

“Counsel?”

“Yes.”

“Precedent?”

“Extensive, inconsistent, often old enough to be irritating.”

For the first time since waking in the dark, I felt something like professional hunger.

Not blood hunger. Cleaner. Sharper. Mine before fangs, before chains, before Lucian.

I sat back.

“I’m clearly taking crazy pills,” I said. “But you think this will be a good place for me to pop out of a cake?”

Maksym stared at me. The silence stretched.

Remy’s smile spread with delighted anticipation.

Taras looked down at his notebook, but I saw his mouth twitch.

He looked at me as if he had never encountered a woman like me in all his long life.

Good. Maybe he had not.

Maybe he had known queens, duchesses, witches, vampire nobles, demons in designer suits, and whatever else walked through the back doors of the world. But he had not known a girl raised in the foothills of Appalachia by a grandmother who could stretch a dollar until it begged for mercy.

He had found me dying. That was not the same as knowing what had survived.

“No cake,” he said at last.

“Shame.”

“The Council would take it poorly.”

“I assume monster Congress has no sense of theater.”

Remy pointed at me. “Do not assume that. Some of them have far too much.”

“Noted.”

I looked down at the papers on the table.