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Walker laughed. This close, I could feel the other emotions in him, too. He was upset and worried about something, not at all amused. I let my hands roam over him as the security lock on the door disengaged, leaning up into his body. If he needed comfort or distraction, that I could do.
He leaned down, pressing me into the door as he kissed me. It was desperate and wild, as if it were the last time or something.
The door opened behind me. I wrapped my arms around his neck to help maintain my balance.
A throat cleared behind us.
I turned around, tactfully using my body to cover his erection, in case it was Dmitri on the other side of the door with the adults. Flint and Kara stood in the reception area. The faint flicker of a smile on Flint’s face annoyed me, even if it was only for a moment.
Kara Dumont twisted her hands together as her eyes darted up to meet mine, then away. She had her mother’s build and her father’s height, delicate, tall, and awkward. Someday, when she grew into the sharp angles of her face, she’d be beautiful, but right now she was a mess. Swollen eyes and tear stains didn’t help.
“She wanted to see you as soon as you got in. The Wardens dropped her off an hour ago,” Flint said. “Dove was already asleep. I thought you could tell her what room she’d be staying in.”
He showed tact in not mentioning she was obviously in need of comfort and company, even what low-key reassurance he could have provided her.
“I’m sorry,” Kara murmured, voice fragile and light as a dead leaf. “I told them everything about what I saw. The elf. I’m so sorry, I was scared….” Her words trailed off as her eyes filled with tears.
I patted her hand and tugged her toward the kitchen.
“It’s fine. Your father’s lying like a champion to try to cover it up,” I said, to console her.
Walker winced, and the leaky dam broke. Kara buried her face in her hands, shoulders shaking as sobs assaulted my ears. A strange trigger: she had to know lying and exaggeration were the chief duties of politicians.
I patted her, the touch quick and light, staring at Walker. He shook his head in the negative and lifted his hands.
Coward.
The sobs resolved into, “You might die and it’s all my fault. They’ll take your baby away.” Fresh tears. “And I didn’t grab the nurse’s hand—I froze, and Dmitri got hurt, and they said that I had to tell or Father would be disgraced and I’m so sorry.” Kara shook with the force of her crying, her words running together.
I wished for Elise and Robert to appear in the doorway. Nothing happened. For all the trouble my heritage brought on me, it should do something useful once in a while.
Comfort was hard—I was never someone people went to for consolation. Chance said it was like hugging a sea urchin.
Chance was an ass.
“Come on, let’s go to the kitchen. There’s cake in the cooler.”
She settled at the small table as I sat by her. Flint leaned against the wall, and Walker raided the cooler. It wasn’t chocolate, but it had whipped cream and strawberries, and she calmed more as I ate. She pushed hers away.
She was silent long enough for me to finish my slice. I asked, “Have you told Robert they threatened you?”
“No, I only had a short call to Father. I wasn’t with the Wardens for most of it, the President’s Guard were the ones questioning me. Uncle Alan’s Guard. They kept moving me to different places. I hoped he’d find out and help me if Father couldn’t, but all of a sudden, they brought me to the Wardens and the Wardens came straight here. You were all out when they dropped me off here, except for him.”
Never the most perceptive, she hadn’t yet noticed my odd attire, or she’d learned new skills at handling awkward social situations. My bet was on the former. Her slice of cake sat still untouched.
Flint straightened from his lean. The smooth movement caught my eye; while it wasn’t threatening of itself, he moved like an assassin.
In contrast, his voice was gentle. “Ms. Dumont, questioning minors without their parents present or no charges filed is not something that will slide, regardless of the intelligence they got from you.”
“But they know now. About the elf.” Tears threatened again and I would cheerfully have slapped Flint for it.
“You’ve helped, actually, to identify a faction, within the Wardens. We knew there was a leak, since the only people who knew about Dmitri and Alys were the Wardens and your family. Whoever turned you over to the guard is going to be answering a number of uncomfortable questions. Once Silver gets his hands on them, they’ll be very sorry for putting you through this. Much less what your father is likely to do, given the opportunity.” In the silence, he turned and headed for the door, letting it close behind him.
I licked the frosting off my fork and eyed her cake. “I’m not upset at you at all, Kara. It’s the Wardens who arrested you who need their collective butt kicked. I’m putting the Guard on my list too.”
Walker frowned. “What I want to know is why they wouldn’t turn you loose. It was blatant, designed to attract attention. Cohen doesn’t normally operate like that, and it’s calculated to infuriate Silver. Who’s a bad enemy.”
Kara hunched.
