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"The others?"
Sabelle bit her lip Now ot murky "I scarcely know Kelmscott Spencer and Carlisle Blackbourne It’s likely Bra to either of their sons, to solidify his position and hold them in check Both Rye Spencer and Sebastian Blackbourne will someday assume their fathers’ seats I’m sure Bram wanted to be assured of at least one of their votes"
"Blackbourne’s family once supported Mathias," Ice pointed out
"As did Spencer’s Though both have long since rescinded their positions"
"Yes, but for show?"
That, Sabelle couldn’t say for certain
What a terrible political tangle Yes, she had been assisting Bram with Council matters, but she was hardly the expert Her brother kne to finesse or manipulate them He’d learned which battles could be won and which were hopeless Sabelle felt as if she’d dived off a cliff blindfolded and had nothing but intuition and neings to guide her
"Perhaps you’re right," Sabelle conceded "If Blackbourne and Spencer are on his side, perhaps they seek to persuade someone like Camden that it’s in his best interest to approve Mathias And if he refuses"
His head could well be on the chopping block next
"Still," she went on, "Mathias would have only three votes The other three would be against hi to Bram, the Council’s eldest e"
"And the eldest o" Ice nodded
A chill swept across Sabelle Ice’s thinking looked daent theory from a supposed madman
"Let’s look at the other likely scenario If Blackbourne and Spencer aren’t colluding with evil, maybe Mathias intends to use terror tactics toCouncilmen’s families We should warn them of that possibility"
Ice paused "It’s not that simple, princess If arn Councilmen who are, in fact, Mathias sympathizers, the Anarki will knoe’re at MacKinnett’s ain We’re slower, traveling by human means We’re easy prey if they find us"
Sabelle didn’t want to risk Council hurt or killed because of their silence, but Ice was right Besides Bram, they had the Doomsday Diary to protect If it fell into Mathias’s hands, it could ickind
"We should at least warn Caet on his back If Mathias is going to kill more Council members now, Camden is the most likely, both because he’s without an heir and has made no secret of the fact he despises the evil bastard"
Ice nodded "I agree Warn Camden alone, perhaps enlist his help HeBram’s illness to help us understand the politics of the Council and who can be trusted"
"Indeed" Sabelle rose frorabbed her wrist and stayed her "It can wait until , when you’ve rested and feel ain"
The idea was te, push it all aside until tomorrow But Mathias and the Anarki were quick and remorseless She didn’t want Helht had fallen and the teain Ice viewed the melee with new eyes The chaos and destruction? All the Anarki’s attempt to find the Councilman’s transcast mirror It made sense that Mathias would want to intercept iickind’s re six leaders
Behind him, Ice heard Sabelle’s hesitant steps, sensed her fear It took everything inside him not to turn around, comfort her, send her back to the coach house He didn’t want to let her out of his sight … just in case And likely, she would have better luck finding and using the Council’s ht He knew only that it was suised, perhaps as a fa except stark reminders of violence that made his blood boil He hated to think of what these human women had endured at Mathias’s hands It onlythe same fate before her life, too, had ended brutally And that filled hi, he could scarcely control his violent urge for revenge That side, the one that had earned hi mad, he didn’t want to show Sabelle
Instead, he took a deep breath
"Upstairs now, or to the cellar?" Sabelle interrupted his s
He wanted her nowhere near the bodies They clearly disturbed her, and for all Sabelle’s strength, conviction, and courage, she possessed a coenerous … No wonder he’d wanted to mate with her after one taste He’d been half in love with her since first setting eyes on her
Ice turned to face her "We divide and conquer I’ll check the first door upstairs on the left and the cellar You search the other roo "That’s hardly fair to you"