Even Sinclair’s lips seemed to be losing color.
“Lady Marianne—but she—this doesn’t—”
Keith suspected Sinclair was stuck on the same things he was:But she was so powerful. Who would dare move against her? Things like this don’t happen here.
What he didn’t expect was for the woman to turn on Iris and hiss, in a voice dripping with venom, “This isyourfault.”
Iris stiffened. “I didn’t do anything.”
Keith moved between the two of them. He was trying to maintain some veneer of professionalism, but he could already feel that he was shaking with rage. This lady needed toleave Iris alone.
“Back. Up,” Keith said. This time he didn’t bother trying to sound polite.
“You don’t know what she is,” the woman said. Little white flecks of spittle flew from her lips. “Lady Marianne gave her another chance, and she made us all do the same, but that girl isrotten.”
Keith’s jaw was clenched so tightly he felt like he might crack a tooth.
“Leave Iris out of this,” he said. “I know exactly who she is. And I don’t care whoyouare, you can’t talk to her like that.”
“I am Lady Alicia of the Silver Council, and—”
Iris touched the back of his arm.
“Keith, it’s okay. People have said worse.”
The weariness in her voice only amped up his desire to protect her.
Lady Alicia wasn’t helping matters either. She didn’t seem to care that Iris was trying to interfere on her behalf. She just ranted on:
“I saw her go into the Council House with my own two eyes. She went in ahead of all of you, and now she comes out and says that Lady Marianne is dead? We can guess what happened.”
“I do this for a living,” Keith said. “I don’t guess.”
“We can’t know anything yet,” Lord Sinclair said to Lady Alicia. “Even if Iris has been, ah,troublesomein the past, we can’t rush to any conclusions.”
It was a weak defense, but Keith was at least glad to see that the remains of the Council weren’t uniformly turning on Iris. As tepid as Sinclair had sounded, it was still better than nothing.
“She ....” Iris cleared her throat. “I think she’d been dead for hours. It wasn’t me, my lord, my lady. All I did was find her.”
Lady Alicia was unmoved by this. “You could have come by earlier.”
“No, she couldn’t have,” Keith snapped. “She was with me the whole time. You throw around one more unsubstantiated accusation like that and I’ll—”
“Arrest me?” Alicia said with a sneer. “I’m not afraid of that tin badge of yours, you jumped-up little brat. I don’t care what you are in the human world. You may be a tribute, but you’re still below the Council.”
“I’m not talking about arresting you. For the record, though, Icouldarrest you: the nationwide Silver Council’s signed off on my team handling shifter cases, so wipe that smirk off your face. I’m talking about a duel.”
It was an antiquated concept even in traditional unicorn villages like theirs, but being out-of-fashion didn’t make it illegal. According to their own customs, Keith had every right to challenge Lady Alicia and take the field opposite her, both of them shifted and ready to fight. He’d never in a million years have imagined ending up in that position, but he would do it for Iris’s sake.
“You can’t duel a Councilor,” Lord Sinclair snapped. “It’s an insult to thousands of years of tradition—”
“That’s enough,” Iris said firmly. “Keith, you’re very sweet, but if I need any dueling done in my name, I can do it myself. Lady Alicia, I know you’ve never liked me, but someone of your high position knows better than to rush to conclusions.”
Alicia scoffed and stormed off, sweeping away in a rustle of silk. Iris ignored her angry departure completely and went on:
“Lord Sinclair, you’re now the highest-ranking Councilor in the village, and people are depending on you. You’re talking about the past when you should be in the here and now. Your people are scared and unsure, and you should focus on talking to them. And if you could find a doctor to examine Lady Marianne, I’m sure we’d all appreciate it.”
“I—yes.” Lord Sinclair pursed his lips. “Very well. I’ll expect to speak with your superior,” he added to Keith.
