Page 89 of Take No Prisoners
"You always were a little lying brat." Elsie's high whine carried over the crowd's murmurs.
"She didn't change her mind, even when she knew Willamina was my daughter?"
"She knew killing your daughter would hurt you. She hoped you would come for her."
"She wanted to squash our rebellion once and for all." Beatrice nodded. "How disappointed she must have been. How did you protect Niall?"
"We lied. Said he was a boy they'd taken from a shipwreck when he was a baby."
"She believed you?" Martiz sounded doubtful.
"It was easy enough when the boy had no power. Her seeker declared him mundane."
Martiz continued to ask questions, and Vadim answered with the same automatic precision.
Finally, Martiz asked, "Why did you report Efren's crew?"
"Beatrice ordered it."
Efren had guessed as much but hearing the words from Vadim's mouth cut deep. Beatrice had given the order, but Vadim had followed it, effectively ending their relationship with a split so final Efren still felt betrayed.
"Coryn had set up blockades around the Equis Islands. We worried she would catch me on board and discover the truth, that I was his first mate and we were the dreaded pirate ship captained by a death weaver."
"You could have told Efren to hide you in the hold," Martiz suggested, "or slip you overboard in a water bubble."
"She's a siphon," Vadim said. "She can harvest set weaves and enchantments, pull their power into herself and dissolve them. I didn't want to drown."
Martiz was poised to ask another question when Vadim leapt to his feet. The action shoved his chair back into Efren's knee so hard it stung. "She's here." He turned to the east. "No. They're leaving."
"Sit down," Martiz growled. "Stop trying to buy time with your ridiculous claims."
"You can feel my link with Klaus, can you not?" Vadim marched to Martiz's chair and grabbed his hand.
Martiz hissed and tried to pull away, but when his hand touched Vadim's chest, he frowned. "He's moving away at a fast clip."
"General Coryn's taken him."
Efren had been ignoring his connection with Niall since the trial started. Now, he wondered if Olivia andStarlight Specterhad returned, and if Niall and Petri were safe.
"This is your fault," Martiz said. "You were supposed to break the link with him before your trial."
Vadim took a step back and let Martiz's hand drop to his lap. He turned on his heel and met Efren's gaze. Somehow, his gloved hands remained at his sides, though his fingers twitched along the seams of his pants.
"We need the seeker," Beatrice said. "That's final. We'll postpone the trial until we've dealt with Coryn." She hopped to her feet and approached Vadim. Before he could right his chair, she placed a hand on his arm and guided him to the door. "Don't worry. We'll get Klaus back."
She looked back over her shoulder and motioned for Efren to follow. Then, she turned to the rest of the council. "Well, are you coming, or not?"
The sunlight seemed overly harsh after the relative darkness of the cave. Vadim winced as though the light physically hurt him. Efren wished he had his tricorn hat, but he'd left it on his dresser that morning, thinking he would be indoors for the better part of the day.
"Captain Efren!" Olivia's voice rang through the dense brush around them, coming from everywhere at once. "They've taken Niall!"
Where before Efren had been eager to help Vadim, now, he was rabid. He would tear Coryn limb from limb if even a hair on Niall's head was out of place, or if he had a single scratch.
"I can track them," Vadim said. "How soon can you sail?"
"Captain!" Olivia rushed at him through the trees. She latched onto his arm and began pulling him toward the lifeboat anchored off the beach. His hat took up a seat on the bench. In the distance,Starlight Specterwas already turned to the south, ready to slip between the two islands in pursuit as soon as they were aboard.
"I'm coming with you," Beatrice said. "You'll need all the air support you can get."
