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Pouting, Ana retorts, “No one has died, though.”
I try hard not to react to this piece of information.
“Not yet,” Andre corrects. “We’re almost ready for the competition though, so you should take your seat.”
He gestures to the seats behind him. I gasp as I my eyes land on the dais with three gold chairs, one for each of the Tribunal, undoubtedly. But that’s not what draws my eyes, it’s the woman standing behind one of the empty chairs.
Marian.
“What was that?” Andre asks.
I mentally curse myself for saying her name out loud.
Clearing my throat, I look up at Ana, doing my best to sound sultry. “May I go wait for you, mistress?”
Ana’s eyes narrow on me, making it clear she knows who I just spotted, and that I wasn’t planning on a friendly reunion. Rather than answering me, she pulls me along as she and Andre walk towards the dais.
I’m not surprised when he sits down in the chair Marian is leaning against. After all, he claims to have seen me die, so they’re obviously in some form of alliance. I just wish I knew what deal they’ve struck. Because it would take something big for Marian to sway one of the Tribunal members, and her pussy just can’t be that magical.
As discreetly as possible, I peek at Marian from under the hood. I wish she looked as heinous as her insides are, but sadly, her only imperfection is the missing finger in my bag. With her hand resting on top of the chair I can see the evidence of the mutilation I inflicted on her. It feels good, too good.
Ana discreetly took Liam’s knife from me, but since she never searched me, I still have Mizéria. I feel confident I could unsheathe it and stab Marian before anyone could stop me.
“Are we ready?” Joachim asks as he joins us, taking his seat in the last chair.
Shit, I should have made my move before he came back.
As soon as he sits down, two guards bring Remus and Arthur forward. Their hands are tied in front of them, and there’s blood trickling from Remus’ forehead, but other than that, they don’t look any worse for wear.
“Welcome,” Andreas drawls, throwing his arms wide in a mockery of a greeting. “We had no idea the lion and the she-wolf wanted a front-row seat as we find the next Drákon Leader.”
Arthur sneers. “And we had no idea you feel so threatened you had to tie us to feel safe.”
I force a cough to hide my snort.
Joachim straightens in his seat. “Untie them this instant,” he hisses. “They’re not captives, they’re…” He trails off like he has no words to explain the situation.
I watch with bated breath as the guards untie Remus and Arthur. While they’re given wet wipes to wipe the grime on their faces away, Joachim and Ana apologize for the guards apprehending the Leaders.
As soon as they’re somewhat clean, they’re ushered over to the seats directly in front of the dais. Women in beautiful white dresses, and loud gold jewelry serve them food and drinks.
“Now, that’s much better, isn’t it?” Andreas asks, sounding like it’s physically painful for him to play nice.
Remus scoffs. “Yes, nothing says welcome like being manhandled.”
Ana laughs softly and leans closer to the edge so she can look down at the irate Russo Leader. “I can appreciate how frustrating that must have been, Remus. But you are on our land in the middle of the night.”
Joachim and Andreas are quick to back her statement up.
“Regardless,” Joachim says, his voice deep and smooth. “We do find ourselves in a predicament.”
Andreas makes a sweeping motion with his arm. “One we can solve later. We have other things to deal with first.”
I try hard not to shiver at the coldness and underlying danger in his tone, but it’s hard. All three of the Tribunal might be dangerous in their own right, but you don’t need to know them to figure out that he is something different altogether.
Without saying anything else, Joachim waves his arm towards one of the people hovering at the edge of the maze. He shuffles backwards and disappears into the shadows, but before I can wonder what he’s doing, he returns with Liam, Lupa, Mordred, and Isolde.
I catalog everything from my consort’s limp, to the cut on his cheek. White hot rage burns inside me at the sight of what they’ve done to him. I’ll fucking make them pay. I don’t care who did it, they’ll wish they’d never touched what’s mine.
