Page 28 of The Witch They Crave

"I came here because she can't do anything with it from down here in this pit. You can."

I nod, putting the pieces together. I hate the guy, but he’s not wrong. And I can see in his eyes that he’s telling the truth. Whatever there is between him and Cal, it’s real. Real enough that he’s willing to put himself on the line to protect her.

We’re not that different after all.

"I'm taking her out. Tonight. Before any of them get the chance," Kage says.

Of course that's where he starts. I'd be disappointed if it weren't.

"She already told you no."

"She told me no when she thought there was still a chance the system works. Does this sound like the system working?"

"The fail-safe travels. There's nowhere on earth the council can't reach, and you know that."

"I know I can keep her alive longer than a tribunal will."

"You can keep her running. That's not the same thing." I hold his gaze. "She refused you once. You want to take that choice from her?"

His jaw tightens, the scar pulling across his slightly disfigured face. I hit a nerve.

"Then what?" He leans against the passage wall. Arms crossed. The posture is casual but the tendons in his forearms are taut. "Because I came down here betting that you're not just another council dog in a nice coat. But I've been wrong about men like you before."

"Men like me."

"Men with clean hands and long titles who care right up until it costs them something." He pushes off the wall. Steps closer. Close enough that I can see the fresh scab splitting on his lip, the dried blood still under his fingernails. His chin drops. Eyes level with mine. "So tell me I'm wrong. Tell me you're not going to sit in that room tomorrow and follow the rules while they sign her over."

I don't step back. Kage isn’t worth it and I’m not a fucking council dog.

"I testify that she's improving. That the incident was provoked. That pulling her out now wastes everything the council invested—"

He actually laughs. Short, ugly, mostly air. "That's a prayer, not a plan. You think three adjudicators care about channeling numbers when there's a blood claim on the table? That's old law. Older than you. It doesn't bend for progress reports."

He's right. I let the admission sit.

"I've made other arrangements," I say.

Kage's eyes narrow. "What kind?"

"The kind that don't concern you."

"Everything about her concerns me." The performance falls out of his voice. "My blood is in her. Twice. I can feel her heartbeat right now from the other side of your chest. So try again."

The impulse to hit him arrives clean and complete. I could kill him, tear his head off with my bare hands and Devenir would run just the same as when scum like him walked the campus. My hands stay at my sides.

"I contacted my family. My father is making inquiries through older channels—if the Vane claim is upheld, there may be a counter-claim. The incident occurred on academy property, during a council-sanctioned event, involving a subject under council supervision. The liability argument is that House Vane's grievance lies with the institution, not with Calypso."

He goes quiet. Actually quiet—his whole restless body going focused in a way that tells me he's sharper than three centuries of playing the idiot would suggest.

"That's not going to work," he says finally. "Is it?"

"I don't know."

He stares at me. "That's what you've got? Her life is on the table tomorrow and you don't know?"

"The claim is legitimate. Emric Vane is dead. Her magic killed him. No procedural argument changes that, and Leopold has spent two weeks making sure the Vanes go in with teeth bared."

"So he's rigging the room."