“Dream on,” she sneered. “You only wish you could get your hands on all of this awesomeness again, and that’s one thing I promise is never going to happen.”

Xavier said rapidly, “Okay, thanks again.”

Melisande’s voice changed drastically, and she said with obvious affection, “Any time, darling. ’Bye.”

Xavier signed off. For a moment, he and Julian looked at each other, and in spite of the severity of her own problems, Tess was hard put to keep from laughing. Struggling to keep her face straight, she put a hand over her mouth.

“It’s not pretty or dignified,” Xavier said. “But it is a recording of an agreement between the two of you. Maybe it’ll be enough to back Justine off, because you know the other members of the council won’t take kindly to being called to reconvene over a technicality of law that appears to have been resolved already.”

“I’ll take it,” Julian said. “I can back Justine off with this and boot her out of Evenfall, at least until next year’s council sessions.”

Xavier paused. “Gavin can probably cut off the last bit, if you prefer to keep that part private.”

“Fine. Get me an abbreviated copy as soon as you can. Now, about your issue you couldn’t discuss over the phone.” When Julian looked at Tess, the red in his gaze had faded. He said, “I remember you. You interviewed with Xavier at the Vampyre’s Ball. You’re the one who sent an email to everyone on the Evenfall server. Including me.”

Her humor died, and she nodded nervously.

For a few moments, Julian studied her with the same clinical dispassion that he had shown at the Ball. He turned to Xavier. “Tell me.”

“Have you heard of the pariah Djinn named Malphas?” Xavier asked.

Julian’s dark gaze narrowed. “He’s the one based in Las Vegas. Owns one of the largest casinos. What of him?”

Xavier said, “We have reason to believe Malphas may have murdered Senator Jackson’s son in Florida.”

The disinterest vaporized from Julian’s expression. “Why do you think that? Convince me.”

When Xavier glanced at Tess, she nodded and he began to explain. Julian’s brows lowered into a scowl as he listened. After Xavier finished, the Nightkind King looked at Tess. He had been dispassionate before, but now his dark gaze had turned chilling.

He said, “You’re the only one in the world making this claim.”

It was impossible to tell what Julian meant by that statement, but Xavier still looked calm and relaxed, and he gave her a reassuring smile. She swallowed hard. “I guess I am.”

“I want to hear you say it,” Julian said. “Tell me you believe this is true.”

She met the Nightkind King’s piercing gaze and said in a clear, steady voice, “I was present in the casino when all of it happened. I watched Eathan dig a hole for himself by gambling more and more, and I saw Malphas seduce him into it. I called Senator Jackson’s office and got through all of his gatekeepers until I spoke to him directly, and I told him Eathan was in trouble. I saw Senator Jackson and his staff of bodyguards arrive at the casino, and they left shortly afterward with Eathan.” She paused. “I believe Malphas killed Eathan.”

Julian’s expression hadn’t shifted. “Jackson’s boy died at sea. Even if the exact location of his death could be pinpointed—which is highly unlikely—it’s too late to have the area scanned by a forensic magic user. You can’t prove anything.”

Her heart sank. Glancing at Xavier again, she said, “No, sir, I’m afraid I can’t. But for me, the timing and manner of Eathan’s death is too compelling.”

Julian sat on the couch, propped his booted feet on the table and crossed his arms. “While I hear the conviction in your voice, nobody cares whether or not you find it compelling or you believe it’s true. It’s a very serious allegation, and none of it can be corroborated. I’ve yet to hear anything about whether or not you’re a credible witness. For all I know, you might also believe tinfoil hats keep aliens from invading your thoughts.”

Xavier stirred. “Julian.”

The Nightkind King gestured impatiently. “I’m making a point. What this whole thing comes down to is your word against a first-generation Djinn.”

If Malphas could make her disappear, it wouldn’t even be that.

Despair tried to take over. Closing her eyes, she fought it off. She whispered, “I know.”

Something settled around her shoulders. Surprised, she opened her eyes again to find Xavier had joined her and put his arm around her shoulders. Comfort stole into her frozen heart. Unable to resist, she slipped an arm around his lean waist while Julian watched them both with that dark, piercing gaze.

Xavier said, “As far as what happened to Jackson’s boy, it may be your word against his, but that’s not true of anybody else you saw Malphas entrap.”

Julian straightened out of his lounging position and sat forward.

Xavier’s clear, gray-green gaze was intelligent and warm. He smiled at her. “You saw other people rack up large debts and overheard things they said. Do you remember any names?”

She blinked rapidly. “Yes.”

“What about the man with his wife? The one who said it would never be over.”

Nodding, she told him, “I remember them. They had a Minnesota address.”

Julian grabbed a pad of paper and a pen from the table and strode over to shove it into her hands. “Make a list of all the names you can remember.”

Moving to one of the couches, she started scribbling.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Julian walk to the cabinet, open it and pull out a bottle of what looked to be bloodwine. He poured ruby red liquid into two glasses as Xavier joined him.

Julian offered one of the glasses to Xavier, who shook his head. With a shrug, Julian tossed back his head and downed the liquid.

Julian asked, “What’s your goal in all this? We’re not going to win any political leverage from the information. The Djinn are notoriously difficult to bargain with, and pariahs won’t necessarily keep their word anyway. If it was a straightforward attack, I could hold him pinned, but only for a little while. If we decide to pin him, we’d have to kill him—and we would need a hell of a lot of backup for that, and right now, I don’t think any of our allies would be willing to take on the kind of damage that a fight with that Powerful of a Djinn would entail.”