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She gestured imperiously to Violet, who quickly came forward to lead the way There was a door just to the left of the throne and we all filed in behind Violet I didn’t look at JB or Nathaniel I didn’t want to see the disapproval that was definitely on Nathaniel’s face, and probably on JB’s We’d only been here a half an hour and I’d already otiations to the brink of total collapse

Just before entering the receiving roo crowd They were all male, dressed in leather, flannel and deni rooave me hostile stares I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up I definitely did not want to run into either of theht

So the wolves were here, too I wondered if they had discovered who had slaughtered their pack o since I’d fallen out of the sky and discovered the body of the first wolf

The receiving room was just as plush as I’d expected, with red velvet pillows scattered everywhere and a profusion of glea wood As soon as the door closed behind JB, Amarantha turned on me

"Tell me what happened"

I bristled a little at her pereive her what she wanted The sooner this was resolved, the sooner we could get on with the negotiations and the sooner I could go ho in the back of ure out what to do about Focalor and Samiel

As succinctly as I could, I summarized Beezle’s kidnap, the hidden portal, our accidental arrival in the outlands, the abandon the leviathan and the spider Amarantha listened with an iize or make excuses I simply presented the events as they had happened and waited She would either accept it or not

Long minutes passed I was ale smart comment

"Very well," Amarantha said "I will verify the presence of this mysterious portal, and have the warriors questioned more closely"

The look in her eye was a little bloodthirsty as she said this, and I thought that the questioning would probably involve pain for the warriors

She continued "I accept that wrong has been done to you when they abandoned you in the woods, and in the course of the kidnapping of your gargoyle I also accept that any offense, if given, has been accidental However, the fact remains that restitution is owed for the loss of my creatures and my forest"

"What kind of restitution?" I asked warily I wasn’t keen on using Azazel’s money, but if A the bill to Daddy dearest