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Something in the cock of Ruiz’s head sent an uneasy jitter through my nerves. I had the sudden suspicion that she was using magic right now, magic she’d put in place before she’d gotten out of that car, to help her judge my reactions. A lie-detector test of sorts. It couldn’t be an official one, because she’d have needed my permission for that, so it wouldn’t be incredibly effective, but she was gleaning something from whatever physiological responses she was tuning into.
Well, fine. Iwastelling the truth.
Ruiz looked at her tablet. Then she raised her gaze to meet mine again. “Regardless of what you know about Miss Portsmith’s and Miss O’Brien’s specific situations, have you seen reason to believe that there’s some sort of malicious activity in the witching community that witches like them would need to be protected from?”
My spine stiffened. How the hell could I answer that? “What do you mean by malicious activity?” I asked, keeping my voice even. If she knew something already, maybe I could at least acknowledge it, even if I couldn’t volunteer the facts.
The investigator’s expression offered nothing. “I was hoping you could tell me.”
“I…” The few things I could have told her, the bits of my own experience not covered by the oath, would have sounded crazy without proof.I saw a demonic creature in a cave on a cliffside. Yeah, that would go over well.
“I’ve seen reason to be wary,” I said finally.
“Whatreason?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t discuss it.”
Ruiz’s eyes searched mine, and in that moment I thought I saw real concern on her face. Something had slipped through the Frankfords’ cover-ups, something had made her worry, and she wanted to stop it, not support it.
“Lady Hallowell, the Assembly can’t help you or the other women here unless we know what we’re dealing with. If you have a complaint to make, I’m here to take it.”
My throat constricted. “Ican’tdiscuss it,” I repeated.
I couldn’t tell if my emphasis was enough. Ruiz studied me a moment longer and then leaned back. “You can always come in to the Justice Division if you have something to report. You can even ask for me directly. And if we find any evidence that leads back to you, we’ll have to bring you in and insist on a full interrogation.”
That last remark could have felt like a threat, but Spark help me, I wished they would find that evidence. That it didn’t all hinge on me like it did right now.
“I know,” I said, and couldn’t help adding, “I’m sorry.”
Ruiz let out her breath. “I suppose you’d better send down your guests now, if they’re ready to speak with me.”
* * *
Ruiz sent me out of the room while she talked with Imogen and then Lesley. They didn’t look unsettled when they emerged, but Ruiz came out with a frown. When she left, after one last pointed glance at me, I went up to my bedroom and flopped on the bed. Emotion was tangled tight in my chest.
A minute later, the door eased open. Gabriel climbed on beside me. I turned, scooting closer into his embrace.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
“For now,” I said. “I think so. I guess it’s possible the Assembly will decide I’m harboring fugitives or some other stupid charge and come back to arrest me for that.” I didn’t have a whole lot of faith in the Justice Division’s version of justice these days.
“They’ll see,” he said, kissing my temple. “We’ll expose the Frankfords and the rest of them, and the families like your aunt’s will stand up and end this.”
“I just wish we had more. All those files don’t do us any good if we can’t find verification somewhere else that the oath doesn’t cover. They’ve been scheming for so long, drawing in so many people… We don’t even know which women they’ve roped in, not for sure. Frankford was too damned careful even with his private files.” There were records on those witches, of course, but under aliases I didn’t know.
“We’re making educated guesses, chasing down those leads. Kyler’s out near the coast right now looking into some things, isn’t he?”
“Yeah.” I didn’t like that either. They’ve sworn not to hurt any of my consorts, but he was still so much more vulnerable than I was. “I wish that video you took had turned out better.”
Gabriel had managed to film the demon and some of the confrontation with my father in the cave on a phone. But when we’d viewed it later, the image had been blurry, the audio distorted by a warble of the energy that had been pulsing from that portal. We weren’t convincing anyone of our outlandish story with that as our only concrete proof.
“We’ll get more chances,” Gabriel said, hugging me tighter. “I know we will, because I know you, and I know there’s no way you’d ever give up on this.”
I hugged him back, tucking my head into his warmth. Having Gabriel’s confidence meant more than I knew how to say to him. He’d lost his father because of how mine had treated them, tossing Mr. Lorde aside after generations of loyal service to the Hallowells. But he’d come back to me, supported me, sworn himself to me with more love than I ever could have asked for.
He kissed the side of my face, my cheek, heading toward my lips. I raised my chin to meet his mouth. But I only got to enjoy the heady heat of his kiss for a few seconds before the sound of the gate buzzer filtered through the door.
I groaned, but my pulse skittered at the same time. Maybe the Assemblywascoming back to arrest me already.
