Page 79 of Wedlock
“Yes,” he sighs, “Eleanor covered your tracks well in this sense, in order to shield Falcon.”
“How?”
“She told the Queen that you were suicidal, you know this.”
“Yes.”
“But she also embellished somewhat. She said you’d had such a terrible birth that you died and had to be resuscitated.”
I roll my eyes.
“What does this have to do with me running?”
“If you were under hupotasso you couldn’t have run. But hupotasso breaks when the human partner dies. It’s a little-known loophole. Falcon should have bitten you again after that to re-secure his thrall. Eleanor neatly tied up our affair and your escape by saying this had not occurred in time.”
“Huh. She thinks of everything, doesn’t she?”
“She’s always one step ahead of most,” he nods.
I put this aside to consider later, and signal for Jag to go on.
“Anyhow, back to the court case. Falcon had no proof that Asumpta killed his half-brother, other than her testimony, which was beginning to look like it wasn’t going to come through as I’d hoped. He also had no proof that Asumpta and Viper helped Tatyana infiltrate the house to make the attempt on Eleanor’s life at Spider’s behest.”
“Because she didn’t,” I murmur. “That was all Viper.”
“Yes, and there was no tangible link between him and Spider, or between Asumpta and Spider. The longer she was cross-examined, the weaker our case grew and the more confidence I began to see in her that she was going to come out on Spider’s side.”
“That bitch.”
He nods and continues.
“I gave evidence about everything I knew, but I had no proof thatIwas innocent of Viper’s death, or that Asumpta had killed Viper either. After all, I’d admitted I’d trespassed on Spider’s land to find Viper, and although she’d confessed to me that she’d killed him, Spider’s team proved this was under torture and therefore inadmissible. There was no proof of her ever having been there. The last card up my sleeve was that I’d found her hiding in oneof Spider’s chateaus in the south of France. I gave evidence that she was aligned with him, had been for centuries to bring down Falcon’s house and have her own bloodline take over the title. When cross-examined I couldn’t give any real proof. But luckily, Wolf came through for Falcon, that rascal.”
“How?” I gasp, wide-eyed.
“Falcon’s rampage after Tatyana’s attempt on Eleanor’s life was not quite as he’d portrayed to us upon his return. We thought he’d destroyed every woman around the globe who’d been bitten by Spider as a child and groomed for The Games. But he hadn’t. Not all. In some cases he’d shown uncharacteristic mercy, and the families of those he spared, some at least, were willing to give evidence about Spider’s long, twisted game. Wolf only knew about this because Falcon told him during one of their drunken nights when they’d discussed The Games. He’d revealed he was unable to kill some of the girls and their families because he had a different perspective on humans since taking part in The Games. And because he loved one.”
I close my eyes momentarily as a wave of regret sweeps over me, but open them as he goes on.
“Wolf told him he was crazy to allow these sleeper cells to remain and offered to finish the job. Falcon reluctantly told him where they were and who they were, but changed his mind the next night and refused to allow Wolf to destroy them. It was only a few days ago that he mentioned them, and we realised their potential. Several humans were brought forward and gave testimony that their daughters were under obedience bites from Spider with the aim of helping him bring down some royal houses, chiefly the Dragonspurs, but there were others too. The gallery went wild with this news — the bite is not supposed to be used this way any longer. Lessons were learned from the past, edicts were made and are strictly adhered to.”
“But,” I frown, “some still do it. Vampires like Falcon’s father, and Viper….”
“No, Falcon’s father bit his wife under hupotasso. That’s permitted, although how he used it is frowned upon. Viper’s bite was illegal, and so were Spider’s thralls. The edicts were made to prevent vampires from biting legions and forming human armies to battle one another. This is essentially what Spider did when he bit dozens of girls around the world and held them under thrall. He may have only been planning war on one or two houses, but it was still an army being used for violence against vampires. The fact that he’d manipulated the selection team of The Games also caused a great stir — after all, a majority of wives come through that process. If it’s corrupt, then any royal house could be threatened from within.”
“So, that’s what freed Falcon?”
“No, I think it was Spider’s testimony that he hadn’t sheltered Asumpta, didn’t know her, and would never associate with a bastard. His dismissal of her as nothing more than a disgruntled kitchen maid and his suggestion that she should have been murdered at birth, like all bastards, angered her enough to reveal everything. She told the court about her alliance with Spider, his plans with Viper, other bites and conspiracies he had undertaken, his murder of Sophie and her child, and so much more.”
“Wow, finally, some good news.”
“Yes. Half-way through her evidence the Queen called an end to the whole charade. She ordered Asumpta executed, and in a bizarre twist she handed Falcon all Spider’s lands and titles before she freed him. Spider was banished.”
“Just like that? After all the manoeuvrings of the Princess and the Queen?”
Jag looks a little uncomfortable as he shakes his head.
“In theory. Free in body, perhaps, for the time being, but given that he’s been completely exoneratedandnow has even more titles behind him, I fear the Princess is more determined than ever to catch him. Her previous traps may not have worked, but she doesn’t give up easily, which is another reason I came to see you. Your security is lax. Yin is a formidable opponent,” he smiles, “but nothing against a group of vampires.”
