Page 33 of Cathmoir's Sons

“I understand,” Lords says. “Let me ask a few follow-up questions that I hope won’t be too invasive. First let me say that I don’t blame Odin for his testimony. It was clear even at the time that he was being blackmailed or threatened. He looked terrified when he was on the stand.”

“I’ve taken the classes on how to beat ‘the chair’,” I respond, returning to the table while the pan heats. I take a head of romaine out of its package and begin to chop. “I know that even the most powerful truth charms can be subverted if the witness believes what they’re saying. I just don’t understand how O could have been so deluded.”

Lords spreads his hands. “It was all circumstantial. It’s easy to convince someone of what theymighthave seen. Odin saw me with someone, a student, a curvy woman. It’s not too many steps from there to believe that curvy woman was someone he knew, his family friend, Jade Kalveri. I’ve seen witnesses led down paths like that before. What I find more curious is who and what. Who coerced his testimony and what did they have over him?”

“You’re wondering if I knew what their leverage was,” I say, following his line of questions. I pile the chopped lettuce onto three plates as I think. “The Hale family has secrets. The biggest is probably what Niles did to me, but there are plenty of others. None that directly involve O’s branch of the family, though. I’m not sure why he’d care about secrets like Aunt Kathy summoning a demi-goddess being exposed.”

“I suggest that’s where we start.” Lords takes a small black notebook. He opens it and shows me a family tree he has sketched on two pages. “I’ve only been able to go back to Evanda Hale herself but is this correct?”

I look it over. “Yeah, as far as it goes. You’ve missed off Grampy Ben’s side of the family and Grampy Adam’s first wife, their daughter Andrea, and Andrea’s sons Webb and Robin.”

Lords chokes, then clears his throat. “Robin ... Robin DeWinter? The Bevington professor who was having an affair with Jade Kalveri? He was your first cousin?”

I nod. “You didn’t know he was Family Hale?”

“No.” Lords writes furiously in his notebook. “How could I have missed that?”

“It’s definitely one of the family secrets. Particularly since Cousin Robin’s father was fae royalty. But again, not on O’s side of the family. I can’t imagine why he’d care about anything to do with Cousin Robin.”

“O’s mother and Kimberly’s mother were twins as I understand it,” Lords says, still writing.

“Kathy and Keira, yeah. Not like Luca and Law are. Um, fraternal twins, not identical. They looked alike. You could tell they were sisters. But unless you knew them well, I don’t think most people would have realized they were twins. They didn’t act similar. I don’t remember Aunt Kathy all that well, but what I do remember was that she scared me. She yelled a lot. I don’t remember her hitting Kimberly or the other kids, but it always seemed like the threat was there. The cousins all avoided her. That I do remember.”

Lords flips a page and keeps scribbling. While he’s writing, I lay the marinated tuna in the hot pan and listen to it sizzle.

“And Aunt Keira?” Lords prompts.

I shrug. “I haven’t seen her in a couple of years but she was always nice to me as a kid. After what happened with Grampy Niles, she acted, well, like she had to make it up to me. She used to sneak me candy, extra portions of dessert, that kind of thing.”

“I’m sure she was horrified by her father’s actions,” Lords says absently as he writes.

“It was a turning point for a lot of the family,” I admit. “People who agreed with Grampy Niles but were on the fence about summoning greater spirits backed away altogether. Even Uncle Ezra was pretty shaken.”

Lords nods. I let him write while I grab some tongs and turn the tuna over. It’s got a nice sear. I watch the fillet carefully as the ruby-red fish changes to a lighter pink; I whip it off while the middle third of the fillet is still deep red. I turn off the stove and take the tuna back over to my cutting board. I let the fish rest while I mix up a vinaigrette and dress the lettuce, dot the salads with tiny plum tomatoes, and sprinkle sesame seeds over the top. Then I slice up the fish and fan it over top of the salads. I clean up my mess and put out cutlery just as the door of the den opens and closes.

Law bangs in and out like the door’s done him a personal wrong, so I know it’s Luca just from the quiet entrance. He walks into the kitchen, loose-limbed and grinning to himself as he strips off his cropped sweatshirt. He freezes when he sees Lords.

I nod reassuringly. “Luca, this is Evan Lords.”

“The Capricorn,” Luca says. He tosses his sweatshirt onto a chair and lolls into the seat with feline grace, his pale chest and abs rippling.

Because no one can keep their shirts on for meals around here.

That makes me sound like a prude in my own head. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about the constant temptation whenever Luca reveals so much skin. When we’re alone, great. When we’re not, it’s just potentially embarrassing.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Prince Lucas,” Lords says.

Luca snorts. “No one calls me Prince. I’m the spare.”

Lords closes his notebook and tucks it away. “After my last conversation with Rhodes, I had an interesting discussion with Callan Dùbhghlas. Although he takes delight in misleading mewhenever he can, I believe he was in earnest when he told me that Kellan Wyndham has taken the mantle of Crow Queen and that you’re one of her fated mates.PrinceLucas seems appropriate, therefore. Perhaps evenPrince Consort.”

Luca’s grin grows fangs. “Whatever you want to call me is fine,Primus.”

Lords lifts his glasses and pinches the bridge of his nose. “I had the, erm, pleasure of knowing Teddy Nowak and her husbands while they were at Bevington. They were also terrifyingly precocious. I got off on the wrong foot with Teddy and it took me some time to win her trust. I’d like to think I can learn from my mistakes. Let me try again. Luca, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Please call me Evan.”

Luca holds out his hand and Lords shakes.

Since Lords and Luca seem to be hashing things out, I grab bottles of water and pass the plates around. Luca sets in on his fish like he hasn’t eaten in a year, which I know isn’t true because we had a massive breakfast together this morning before he left for class. He’s also been sleeping a huge amount since Jedburgh Abbey. I think everything’s taken a huge amount out of him.

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