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Instead, he looked at the Charter, then at Oda, and finally at me. His smile widened with what looked disturbingly close to genuine amusement.

"Of course, Headmistress," Aldric Vance said. "The Sanctuary of Ironmoor. How could I possibly have forgotten?"

He folded the warrant in half, then folded it again and slipped it into his breast pocket.

"The Council respects the Charter absolutely. Miss Hale remains in your charge." He allowed a brief pause. "Under all its articles, naturally. Including the provision stating that any student who refuses a lawful order of the Council forfeits the Charter's protection."

"All its articles," Oda agreed. "Including the prohibition against issuing an order for the sole purpose of defeating Sanctuary. If you intend to make her forfeit that protection, Aldric, you will require a lawful purpose independent of removing her from Ironmoor, and that purpose will have to survive review."

His expression remained unchanged. "Naturally."

"Always," Oda said.

That was the end of the challenge. Aldric yielded in front of the entire Hall without raising his voice or offering so much as a token argument, which told me more than an outburst would have.

He had wanted custody. The men with the darts, the fabricated leave, and the warrant made that obvious. But custody had never been his only option.

The Charter could stop him from sending armed men through Ironmoor's gates, but it could not remove the Council's authority beyond them. The Council controlled the ferries, the records, and the official communications leaving the island. Aldric did not need to violate the Accord when he could use its procedures instead. All he needed was an order that appeared legitimate on paper and a reason for me to refuse it.

His smile made more sense after that.

"One condition, naturally," he continued. "The Council must be satisfied that Miss Hale is properly registered. Enrolled, recorded, and accounted for accurately this time." He glanced toward Mr. Aske, who stood gray-faced and silent against the wall. "If she is to enjoy the Sanctuary of Ironmoor, she will not leave it without the Council's knowledge."

"Agreed," Oda said. "On one condition of my own."

Aldric raised his eyebrows.

"You are holding a woman named Marion Pike on a historical charge of harboring an unregistered Kindred," Oda said. "I do not suggest that the charge has ceased to exist. I suggest that the Assembly will ask why the Council considers it necessary to continue imprisoning an ordinary woman after the Kindred in question has presented herself, completed Council assessment, and entered Council-recognized supervision." She gave the words a moment to settle. "Release her today. I will file Miss Hale's corrected registration before your envoys depart."

For an instant, I forgot everything else in the room.

Aldric studied Oda in silence before turning his attention to me. I could see him considering the exchange.

Marion still had value to him because she had value to me, but keeping a fifty-eight-year-old woman imprisoned over a charge that had just become much harder to justify carried its own cost. He already had my registration, the Council's control over access to the island, and whatever lawful orders he might issue later. Giving Marion up cost him less than continuing to hold her.

"How generous you are, Headmistress," he said at last. "Very well. As a gesture of the Council's goodwill." He adjusted one cuff before adding, "Mrs. Pike was transferred to the mainland harbor station yesterday. She can be placed aboard the four-o'clock ferry."

Before anyone could move on, a thin Warden wearing a Council pin raised his hand.

"There remains the matter of the Culling Exam," he said. "The interference, and the recertification of Mr. Thorne. Surely that certification cannot stand."

Instructor Varga, stationed near the wall, nodded vigorously.

Oda turned toward the Warden.

"The purpose of recertification is to establish whether the candidate can hold when confronted with the Red," she said. "Mr. Thorne did so under conditions no previous candidate has faced. Two ferals died. Three were subdued without another death." Her gaze did not leave him. "I was there. I watched him hold with the Red at his throat for a quarter of an hour longer than any man I have ever seen. As the supervising Elder who witnessed the examination, I certify that he held. His recertification stands." She closed the Charter firmly. "Unless the Council would prefer to explain to the Assembly why it sent five ferals against one man on probation, in the dark, in the middle of a ball."

The Warden lowered his hand.

"And the three who survived?" I asked.

Aldric's attention shifted to me. "They remain in Council custody."

"They're people."

Before he could respond, Oda said, "Then I imagine the Assembly will be extremely interested in what Miss Hale saw behind their eyes."

The room fell silent again.