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"Murder? Hope waswoh the door "I had no idea where she went, let alone what happened to her, but I certainly haven&039;t killed her!"

Theo, what&039;s going on here? Murder?

I don&039;t know, but the mare must be handled carefully This is a serious situation

You ain&039;t just whistlin&039; &039;Dixie&039;!

"I fear there has been a race," Theo said suavely, positioning himself between me and the bailiff

Thevisibly when he sht at him

Subtle doesn&039;t win the fair hts of what I&039;d like to do to him at that very moment

You are a bloodthirsty little thing, aren&039;t you? You can stopknife I simply mean to win her over to our side, not seduce her

"You are the chah eyeing than I thought strictly necessary

"Theondre North at your service, your grace," he said, bowing, char off him

Just see that you don&039;t I like to think of enerous person, but when it comes to men, I don&039;t share

Neither do I, but that&039;s not the issue at stake

I won&039;t say thelike she was going to have utted on the spot "Oneback to me "Am I to understand that you did not seek an audience withthe virtue naave her a polite smile "That&039;s correct I am here to discuss the continuation of the seven trials I have been forced to undergo I also wish to discuss the process for sube a complaint about two old ladies who beat me up without due cause"

The mare&039;s eyebrows rose, her eyes chilly "I see"

"I can reassure you that my client is not the type of person ould co closer to esture, it ware you have laid at her feet"

The mare didn&039;t look at all like she believed him "And did you take on the role of her champion before or after she surace I discussed the situation with her at sothe situation

Hush

" - and deter that she was doing so The virtue assumed she wished to take on the position, and since she was desirous of leaving, she passed on her poithout Portia being aware of exactly what she was co," the rabbed rip that would no doubt leave bruises Above race, please, we ask that you recognize the extenuating circurant leniency" Theo sent the mare another sultry s that

Saving your life, youher those wicked smiles

Are you jealous?

Not in the least

There was a pregnant pause during which Theo laughed into ht, perhaps a little, but it&039;s justified I know you&039;re trying to get us out of this situation, but itoh, never rounds do you ask for leniency?" thejust a bit rew thick, but not with static I fought to controlthe otwould be fine

I noticed thehis masculine wiles to sway her almost as much as it irritated me that I was bothered by that in the first place

The analytical part of my brain pointed out that I&039;d only known Theo a few days, and been intimate with hiht into his nature Oh, sure, ere talking about following the steps to a for, but so far, that was just talk - we hadn&039;t taken the last couple of steps What if he never intended us to? What if we did, and I found out he was really a jerk? Perhaps he was one of those men who felt it acceptable to flirt with every fe more than a tomcat, on the prowl for the next conquest Perhaps he didn&039;t believe in things like fidelity and honor

Perhaps I needed to stop worrying about Theo&039;s intentions towardmyself out of heavenly prison

What if he didn&039;t love rew cold around us

"I ask that leniency be shown to Portia due to her inexperience with Court rounds for cle icy as she looked atto tone down the indignation in my voice

Tiny little pitter-patter sounds followed a shower ofthe situation

I&039; it on purpose!

The mare looked up at my cloud, then at me, with a look that spoke voluood control of this whole weather business yet," I said stiffly, trying to dissipate the cloud "As for the other, I am simply inexperienced in the ways of the Court I did not ask to becoht, that I a to take on the job Since no one bothered to explain tovirtues, I&039; my way blindly here, and would appreciate it if you could recognize that fact"

Sweetling, you must temper your tone It is borderline hostile And stop the hail! It&039;s spreading to the mare&039;s desk

I&039;m sorry about that, but I will not stand by while you prostitute yourself in order to get this wohed intoa bit of charht understand our point of view has nothing to do with our relationship You have no reason to feel threatened by other women

The mare lifted her chin and looked down her nose atin the entire room was covered in a white blanket of ice the size of sly at the ry

Portia, stop the drao away, but it won&039;t!

I can assure you that the sovereign takes very dim views of people who treat officers of the Court with such antipathy!

The hail came down even harder

The mare suddenly picked up a book and slammed it down onto her desk "Cease this display!" she bellowed

"I can&039;t! I don&039;t kno!" I yelled back, waving my hands desperately as if that would help disperse the cloud overme back when I moved forward to brush the hail off the race, please - " Theo started to say, but the mare interrupted hih to rattle the s in the roooddess as the hail swirled around her "You are out of control and a danger to others, as well as yourself For that reason, and that reason alone, I will bypass the justice calendar and coe of ainst you You will report to Petitioner&039;s Park at Nones You will not leave the Court without permission You will not discuss your case with anyone but the appropriate authorities You will not utilize your Gift without permission Do you understand what I have said?"

I blinked a couple of times, surprised that she didn&039;t order eon, to be left to rot for a few years before someone remembered me "Iyes Thank you"

The et out of here!"

Reluctantly, the bailiff released my arm

What just happened? I asked Theo

I believe she realized the truth in ere saying about you not having any experience with the powers of a virtue

Just because I couldn&039;t control the hail?

Yes Anyone who intended to beco of the role, and better control over those ele "Thank you for your generosity, your grace"

The look she gave Theo as he ritted my teeth and reminded myself of what Theo had said

The cloud disappeared as I left the rooh the rest of the trials so you can take control of your Gift," Theo said in a low voice as he hustledlanced at the sky "Another hour Tiry"

"So are you," I said, aware of the hot need that growled inside him

"Yes We will seek the dapifer This way"

A dapifer, it turned out, was so for visitors to the Court Or so Theo explained as wehis hands e asked for a room and food

"We don&039;t norrace said it was all right"

I bit back the desire to state the obvious about such a ridiculous policy