Bloodspell (The Cruentus Curse, #1)(84)
Christian sat tensely in his chair waiting for the moment when Lucian would make his end-game clear. The minute the meeting began, Lucian's body language changed and he became alert, ready, and predatory. This farce of a grievance was only for show and Christian knew it the instant he saw his twin brother's calculating expression. This had been a pretense to get Christian here along with the representative factions of the witch clans, just as Enhard had feared.
He glanced at Victoria, realizing even more that her presence may have been Lucian's main focus. Her face was pale but composed, and she'd never looked more beautiful or fragile. He took a breath and nodded to Enhard to commence.
Lucian stood, his bearing arrogant as he faced the Council. He barely looked at the witch and wizard sitting to his right, his distaste for them evident, even to Victoria. He addressed the Council.
"My Lords, you have threatened me countless times with your contempt for my actions when I only seek to better our future. Yes, I concede that people have died, but that is the price of power." Lucian's voice echoed into the room and Victoria could see the clenched fingers of the petite witch on the arms of her chair. He turned to address Aliya and Fardon, his voice carelessly insolent. "But let's get to the point. You got what you wanted, your traitor died. By another witch's hand no less."
Victoria suddenly felt the world tilt at Lucian's words and her gaze locked on Christian. His jaw was clenched, and she could sense that he was furious. Lucian, now performing for a suddenly captive audience, turned to face her, his face twisted with an evil cunning smile.
"There's your killer right there." And he pointed straight to her.
Victoria felt all eyes in the room boring into her. Now it was her turn to grasp the arms of her chair with bloodless fingers. Through the haze, she felt Christian gently brush her mind giving her strength even as she could feel his restrained wrath beneath it. The amulet stung the skin of her chest as the stares converged upon her and she fought the urge to flee.
Enhard cleared his throat. "Lord Devereux, what is this about?"
Lucian faced him, his face a mask of cold rage. "My point, my lord," he said, "is that you censure me for seeking a better future when he seeks to destroy us all." Lucian spat the last words viciously staring at his brother with venomous eyes. Christian remained unmoved, his face chiseled from granite. The Council members muttered among themselves staring from Lucian to Christian and back again. The witch and wizard remained silent though their attention was clearly centered on the two brothers.
"Ask him," Lucian jeered. He indicated the woman sitting beside him. "Lena has seen his disgrace with her own eyes."
As Victoria heard the name, her eyes snapped to the woman who turned in slow motion, her eyes connecting with Victoria's. The malice in their ice blue depths was obvious, and Victoria recognized her as the woman who had attacked her as well as the one from Christian's memories. She felt her blood surge.
"My Lord Devereux is correct," Lena said. "His Grace brings dishonor to both our worlds by his ... affiliation with this witch."
The whispers in the room became deafening. Victoria could feel the heavy weight of the stares of the witch and the wizard boring into her on top of the dozens of eyes already locked onto her. She sat coolly, her head high even though her skin was flushed.
"Lord Devereux, this is a grave accusation!" cried a Council member, supported by vocal affirmations from several others. Lucian's ferocious scowl silenced the Council member who had spoken and the vampire shrank back, cowed. Lucian's lip curled in ominous fury as if daring any of them to speak again. They did not look at him. The tension in the room thickened like quicksand.
Suddenly Christian stood and the room became still. "Cease," he commanded. "Lord Devereux is correct in his statement." Dead silence followed his statement amidst shaken looks. Enhard seemed physically pained. Christian continued. "She is under my protection as Lord Devereux's companion has attacked her twice now. Given the strained relationship between our societies, I thought it best to take her under my protection. Our laws do not forbid this."
"If by protection, you mean something else entirely, then I will say she is surely well protected," Lucian said, his insinuation clear. The room twittered in response. Christian's hands clenched at his side, and Victoria knew that it was time. He couldn't do this alone, not without her help. She stood, walking to the middle of the room and commanding everyone's attention.
"My Lords," she said, addressing the Council, "I confirm that I have been attacked twice by this woman and threatened once by Lucian Devereux himself. In fact, the protection of His Grace," she said, echoing Lucian's sarcastic emphasis as well as Lena's strange formal address to Christian, "is the only reason I stand here before you today."
Victoria didn't mean to consciously do it, but her sincerity was delicately and cleverly amplified by her magic. The Council nodded in unison, some even sitting forward in their seats at the unexpected power of her simple words. She heard the soft gasp of the blond witch sitting behind her, and could feel their startled glances. Compulsion on one person was not something easily done—it took immense skill and concentration to magically sway conscious thought. Compulsion on a roomful of vampires in a space warded against magic was another thing entirely.
"But I saw him with her!" Lena said. "He wants her!" Christian turned but Victoria beat him to the punch.