Death's Mistress (Dorina Basarab, #2)(51)

Radu’s turquoise eyes were worried, and he’d shredded most of the silken tassel on his robe. “Well, I didn’t know,” he said crossly. “He simply said he wanted me to bid on something for him.”

“You didn’t think that was odd?” I demanded.

“Why should I? I’ve done it dozens of times before. They raise the price when they find out a senator is involved.”

“Okay, so you went to the auction for Mircea, but didn’t get the item.”

“It wasn’t my fault! I kept bidding and bidding, but the price kept going up, up, up. It just became ridiculous!”

“So Mircea lost, too.” I looked at Louis-Cesare. “And you assumed he’d sent me to do what? Steal what he couldn’t buy?”

“It is impossible to steal something unless you know where it is. And Raymond handled the sale.”

“Son of a bitch.” I hated getting played, especially by my own father. Maybe because it had happened once too often. “Mircea sent me to fetch Ray, but of course he didn’t mention what he really wanted to ask him about! I assumed it was that ring of portals we’ve been searching for.”

“I’ve no doubt that it would have come up, after Lord Mircea had gained his primary objective.”

“I told him he was better off,” Radu put in. “He’d said to spare no expense, but we’re talking about the cost of a small country! And it was just some old rune. But he’s in a snit about it.”

My brain came to a screeching halt. “Old rune?”

“Yes, ugly little thing.”

“Did it have a name?” I asked intently.

Louis-Cesare’s eyes narrowed. “You said you wanted the vampire for smuggling.”

“No, that’s what Mircea told me he wanted him for. I took the job to help Claire.”

“Your fey friend?”

“She’s here looking for a little something that was recently stolen from the Blarestri royal house.”

Nobody had ever accused Louis-Cesare of being slow on the uptake. His blue eyes hardened to lapis. “No.”

“Yes. It’s her property!”

“And it’s Christine’s life!” He snatched the bag in a move even I had trouble tracking. One minute, I was holding it; the next, it was in his hands.

I grabbed it, but he didn’t let go. “It may be Aiden’s life if we don’t get the damn thing back!”

“Aiden? Who is—”

“Claire’s son! Half the fey are trying to kill him, and the rest aren’t sure that isn’t a good idea. The rune is his protection.”

“He has an army to protect him. Christine has no one!”

I glared at him and pulled hard enough that the bag’s fibers started splitting. “If you want Christine so badly, fight Elyas for her.”

“The Senates have prohibited duels between masters for the duration of the war.”

“Then buy her.”

“Do you not think I have tried?” He let go of Ray abruptly enough that my back hit the wall. “I offered him money, my vote on Senate matters, my sword to fight his duels! Yet the rune is the only thing he will take.”

“We can get the Senate involved—”

“They will not interfere in a private matter between two senators.”

“Your consul then.” The senior vampire in charge of a Senate could occasionally be persuaded to help out a valuable member, and Louis-Cesare’s fighting ability was a major asset.

“Dorina! Do you not think I have explored all possible options? I was told in confidence that, should I be so impolitic as to make an issue of this, they will only drag out deliberations until she is dead! They do not care about Christine. They care only about their precious alliance.”

And, okay, I could see that. The Senates had recently joined forces to fight a greater enemy, and after centuries of mutual dislike and mistrust, it wasn’t the sturdiest of alliances. No way were they going to rock the boat over a single vampire. But that didn’t change my position any.

“And I care about a little boy who deserves the chance to grow up.”

Louis-Cesare stared at me for a moment, before turning away with a cry of anguished frustration. “What do you wish me to do?” he demanded, whirling back to face me. “I am responsible for the woman whose life I ruined! I must put that right!”

“You didn’t ruin it. You saved her.” Louis-Cesare had made Christine a vampire to save her life. From what I’d heard, she’d been less than grateful.

A pulse jumped in his neck. “You cannot save someone if they do not wish it. She believes herself damned because of me. I cannot change what was, but I can prevent her from having to pay the price for another of my mistakes.”

“Not if it takes—” I stopped. Radu was down the hall, flapping his hands frantically.

“The desk just called. Lord Cheung is on his way up!”

I licked my lips. If Louis-Cesare broke the Senate’s prohibition, he’d be punished, probably severely. And he would break it rather than give in. He had a stubborn streak a mile wide and pride enough for any ten people.

“We’ll share,” I offered.

“How?”

“When are you meeting Elyas?”