Thalia’s mind flashed to the Vampyr in the cellar, how utterly deranged it had acted, as though it had gone mad. Then to the conversation she’d first heard when she was introduced to the courts, and Lord Amadeus’s own concerns about something continuing to fester in the forest …
“No idea?” Lord Adrian growled, his chair scraping as he stood. “She was the one who discovered the bitten in Irenbis! She’s the reason my son isbanished.”
“Your son is banished,” Cassius growled, his face rippling, “because he was foolish in bringing a bitten into the city. He put countless lives at risk, all for his own selfishness.”
“You wish to speak of selfishness, Lord Cassius?” Lord Adrian’s words dropped, his own face rippling. “Was not that human princess your own lover? Was she not who your heart sang for? Yet the prince was called away that day you brought her back, and has remained absent from his court while his bride remains here.”
Cassius didn’t take the bait, although his face darkened.
“He is trying to find a cure,” Camilla said, eyes livid. “You would know that if you ever took your head out of your ass.”
“Is he?” Lord Adrian challenged.
“Yes,” Lady Decima spoke, her voice firm and unwavering.
“Which is more than can be said of you and your family,” Camilla commented.
“And what is that supposed to mean?” Lord Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“Your own son was harboring a bitten,” the shifter said. “Considering the fact that another creature was spotted near Cupisco, when yousworeyour borders were secured, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were more bitten being harbored.”
“Are you accusing me of something, shifter?” Lord Adrian asked.
Awkward silence stretched as the rest of the leaders of the Houses all looked at each other
“If you were harboring bitten”—Cassius’s voice turned deadly serious—“then there would be no choice but to banish you and all of your House members.”
Lord Adrian’s lip curled, but he said nothing.
Lord Damien cleared his throat, turning to Lord Amadeus. “House Santorien is near Olvectus. Do you have laborers that can be sent to Lorceium?”
Lord Amadeus nodded slowly, glancing at Cassius. “Yes. I shall send twenty men within the week.”
“Fifty,” Cassius cut in.
Lord Amadeus shifted. “I don’t have more men to spare.”
“Find them.” Cassius’s words were final. Lord Amadeus’s jaw flickered, but he gave a stiff nod.
Lord Damien glanced around the room. “The blight grows stronger as the days go on. It is becoming more difficult to go through the forest to bring the ore to the humans. While we have our ships to bring the ore by sea, we have always struggled to find a safe place to port.” The Vampyr turned to Cassius. “Do you know of a safe dock where we might get ore to the people?”
Cassius’s fingers clenched on the table, his face unreadable.
Why the hell has he never shared where our ports are?
Granted, not that the ports would do much good. Only the most skilled sailor could ever hope to safely land in Agripa. But Thaliacouldn’t make sense of the fact that Cassius had never provided the Houses with this information. Certainly not given his seemingly new devotion to the Vampyrs. The fact that he’d never told the Vampyrs where they might enter, as though he were protecting Agripa, sent another piece of the hazy puzzle scattering.
“Perhaps,” Keegan said tentatively, “Thalia would know.”
Lord Adrian sneered again. “She’d be more inclined to show us the opposite. To watch our people drown as their ships were smashed upon the rocks.”
“Do not speak about her as if you know her.” Cassius’s voice was lethally quiet.
“No, but I am sure you know her well enough. Better, considering all those cold, lonely nights alone together. Given your history together, I wouldn’t put it past you if this plan was yours in the making.”
“What exactly are you accusing me of, Lord Adrian?” Cassius said softly.
“That you brought the human here for a purpose. That perhaps you wished to seduce her, to win her to your side so you might overthrow the prince together. So you might rule House Lorenzia officially. Is that not what you’ve always wanted, to restore your family name, given what happened?” the green-eyed Vampyr spat.
