Page 58 of Blood on the Ice

Fat chance of that. Channing barely weighs a hundred pounds soaking wet and Kaspar is built like a brick shit house.

“Should I go…”

Morgana tilts her head, the errant snake twitching by her shoulder. “No. Perhaps we’ll let them find common ground.”

My rebuttal is cut off by a chorus of loud, dark snarls coming from the other room. I’m surprised to see Morgana’s eyes flicker for a second—just long enough to look serpentine and absolutely delighted before she leans back into Lucas calmly. “Okay, what the hell?”

Channing marches into the room followed by two hulking supes, one dark and one light, a golden boy, a nerd, and the tallest leprechaun I’ve ever seen. The dragon is right behind them, looking angry as hell and ready to bite someone’s head off. “Morgana, your doorman needs a course in appropriate guest reception.”

“Does he now?” our girl replies, her voice filled with humor. “Prince Liam, take note of Kaspar’s deficiencies for later.”

“I do fuckingnot!”the bodyguard roars at my diminutive friend.

Surprisingly, Channing doesn’t cower when the enormous lizard gets in her face. Instead, she puts her hand on her hip and juts her chin out. “You definitely do, jack ass. Back off—and try a mint. Yikes.”

The golden boy bursts out laughing, holding his fist out to her. “Sweet cheeks hasbite. I fucking love it.”

The Prince stands, preventing Kaspar from venting his rage further. “Perhaps we should do some introductions? I’m Prince Liam of the Daybreak Court. Kaspar is my well-intentioned, but rough-edged friend and guard. That’s Ignatius Briarton, Slade, and of course, Lucas is sitting with Morgana. We appreciate you coming.”

The outsiders look at one another for a minute, then Captain Goodlooking shrugs. “I’m the bear’s lawyer; of course we came. I’m not sure why the rest of you are here, but I enjoy a party. This cute little geek is Eli, the mischievous looking one is Foley, blondie is Rainier, and the sour faced one is Kendrick. I brought everyone because your delightful assistant told me my client was poisoned. It changes everything.”

“Why?” I ask. “What about the attack changes your stance on the court case?”

The mop-headed nerd pushes up his glasses. “Because we feel it was an attempt to prevent anyone from finding out who really killed LaMount. If Lucas died under suspicion, people would believe the story that he killed Pierre because of a rivalry and then got killed for revenge. It ties the whole thing up in a bow. Murder is never that simple.”

Lucas frowns, and Morgana squeezes his hand. “You think Lucas is being framed to cover up something else?”

“I do,” Rainer cuts in. “We need your truth, Dean, to understand how and why. Inform us about the undisclosed aspects of the trial. Don’t insult my intelligence by protesting it; I know better.”

What the hell is he talking about?

Our girl’s head drops and I can feel the tension radiating from her across the room. “I… I can’t.”

“They told you it was spell-locked, right?”

Again, I look at the enormous blond guy skeptically. “Who the fuck are you, man?”

Jackson rolls his eyes, walking over to drop into a chair. His pet nerd drops onto his lap and he sighs. “Look. My team is… let’s say, a bit morally gray. Rainier worked for various agencies ranging from human to supe to other over the years. His species is rare and very useful in many situations. Exceptions have been made because he’s so valuable. If he says he knows something, he knows. So spill it.”

“It’s spell-locked, yes.”

Morgana’s answer shocks the hell out of me. That sort of confinement was outlawed centuries ago. What the fuck else did they do to this woman in return for not killing her? “Is that all?”

Slade squints at her and then shakes his head. “No. IknewI sensed something when we first met. There’s more.”

“Geo tag,” the dark man says. He and Kaspar have been glaring at one another since they got in the room and I’m pretty sure they’re deciding whether or not to kill each other.

Morgana doesn’t lift her head as she whispers, “Yes.”

“Unacceptable!”Lucas roars as he sits up straighter. “They have you spell locked to keep you from telling people the truthandgeo-tagged to track you? What the fuck are they doing? I’m calling Nana.”

“Wait.” Eli shakes his head as he looks at us seriously. “Your grandmother might know already, Lucas. She’s not part of the tribunal, but the eldest, most powerful members are usually aware of judgements. Their control over Morgana is something that can be dealt with later. We just need to trick the lock long enough for her to help us connect the dots. Removing it is an ‘another day’ item.”

“How in the hell do we do that?” I ask curiously. “I’ve never heard of a way to beat those. What about you, Liam?”

The Prince shakes his head. “I’ve not heard of one, either. They’re indestructible.”

Fucking perfect.

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