Page 123 of Heart of Iron
Blade snorted.“When it suits ’im.When it don’t ’e just tells me to shove off.”
“I see,” Magnus murmured.“You’re not of the Echelon.”It wasn’t a question.
“Pasty-faced maggots.”Blade winked at Magnus and scanned the crowd with a slightly predatory air.“Watch ’em all coo and scuttle about now, like I was a cat thrown in with ’em.Let’s just say, me presence weren’t expected.”
Will leaned down toward her and whispered in her ear, “We’ve found the girl as took Charlie’s clockwork soldier and cut off a bit of his hair.It were one of his blood donors.Said as how a fancy lord paid her for it.Never saw his face though.”
Relief flooded through her.“She’s no threat?”
His gaze hardened.“Not anymore.Charlie’s drinkin’ his blood cold from now on and I put the fear of God into her.”
“Better that than dead.”
“Aye.”Taking a deep breath, he turned to the Fenrir.“I’ve an apology to make.I lost me temper the other night.I should never have forced me way into your home or made such demands of you.I’m sorry.”
Magnus stared at him for a long time.“In my homeland, if one of the Fenrisúlfr—this verwulfen that you call us—lost control in such a manner, we would cage him and he would be whipped.It is necessary.To learn to control theberserkergang,the fury.The only time we show leniency is during spring rites, when a warrior chooses his mate.Such times are trying.Our instincts overwhelm what we know we must do.”He nodded slowly.“You have no apology to make.This once, I grant you leniency, for you yourself suffer such spring madness.”
“Once,” Eric repeated.“He means this.”
“I threw you across the room,” Will said, uneasy with the man’s good nature.In his place, Will would have been at his throat.
“I should not have reached for your woman.”Eric shrugged.“All is well.I am not a man to hold a grudge.”Shadows darkened his blue eyes.“And I understand how you feel.”
Horns sounded.Conversation lulled as everyone turned toward the tower entrance, prepared for the signing.
“Time to watch this foolery,” Magnus growled.
Astrid caught Lena’s arm.“Might I have a word, Miss Todd?I should like to speak with you and your man.”
The trio of Norwegians froze.
“Astrid?”Magnus arched a brow.
“Go ahead.”She waved them toward the door.“I will be only a moment.”
***
Circling the colonnade, Astrid stared out over the rail, the wind whipping her blond curls back like a banner.“My uncle is old,” she said suddenly.“A traditionalist.He remembers when we fought the blue bloods and I fear in his heart, he cannot accept this treaty.”
Will leaned back against the rail, crossing his arms over his chest.His heart was pounding.Lena could hear it over the beat of her own.
“Why’re you tellin’ us?”he asked.
“You have a personal stake in this matter,” Astrid replied.“But I appreciate your honesty.You have never once tried to manipulate us.I trust this.I trust you.And I need honest answers right now.”
Inside, the majority of the Echelon had gathered in the Grand Hall, prepared to watch the historic episode.The prince consort and queen had not yet arrived, but the Council of Dukes was gathering.Will needed to work fast, but Lena knew his answer before he mouthed it.
“You’ll have ’em.”
He was too loyal, too honest for this work.It was one of the reasons he would not last long in this world alone.And yet she held her breath as Astrid nodded.If he had tried to play them false, would the churlish Norwegians have ever accepted him?
“Can your prince consort be trusted?Can your Council of Dukes?”Astrid asked.
For this he looked to Lena.“I don’t trust ’em as a whole.But my opinion against ’em’s not wholly rational.Lena knows more.”
Lena considered the question.“The prince consort… No.No, I don’t think so.As for the Council, they oppose him in some matters, but not all.He has several of them in his pocket, but each of them has their own agenda.There are some few you can trust.Leo is one.The Duke of Goethe.Maybethe Duke of Malloryn.And the Duchess of Casavian’s motives are entirely opaque.I don’t know what game she’s playing, if any.”
“The Swedish ambassador intends to accept this treaty.I am trapped in a hard place.If we do not accept, we become caught between two powerful empires.The Swedes have long since wanted to destroy the last of our clans, and with the British on their side, we have no allies.If we do accept, we become the minority in this treaty.To involve us is a gesture, nothing more.”Astrid frowned.“I must find an ally for my people.There are none on the Continent.The Hapsburg Empire leash their verwulfen for their armies, and the French are incited with this newfound Illumination cult.The only place I have to search is here.In London.”
