Even so, a thread of power prickled across her skin.
'Well come,' said Kimlesh. 'Alexandre, you have returned to us in unexpected circumstances.'
'Yeah, well,' she said. 'Shit happens.'
There was a sound that might have been a hiss behind her. Someone had drawn a weapon — a reminder perhaps that manners were required. She was well aware that this was a dangerous game, but she was done with arse-kissing. She wasn't here to beg.
'And this is…?' Kimlesh said.
'This is my friend,' Alex said. 'Lords and Ladies, this is Sparky. Sparky, meet the Lords and Ladies of the High Court of the Feyre.'
Sparky looked uncomfortable for a moment. 'Pleased to meet you,' he mumbled.
Mellion leaned forward, his silver chain glinting as his dark eyes focused on Sparky, who shifted uncomfortably under his inhuman gaze.
'You would do well to remember where you are,' said Lord Krane, who lounged in the throne at the centre of the group.
Alex met his gaze unflinching. 'Yeah,' she said. 'And you would do well to remember that there still is a where, and a when, which there wouldn't be except for us.'
'You have a high opinion of yourself,' said Teoth, folding his arms, 'which conveniently neglects to account that you are at least partially responsible for the events that transpired.'
'We didn't know what she was going to do,' said Alex.
'Then perhaps,' said Barthia, 'you should be more careful with whom you associate.'
'She would have found someone else,' said Alex. 'It wasn't us she needed, just three people who were stupid and naive enough to follow along.'
'Then you acknowledge your culpability,' said Yonna. When she received a blank look, she tried again. 'You accept the blame for your part.'
'I 'spose,' said Alex.
'That in itself is enough,' said Krane.
'If she'd found someone else,' Alex said, 'we wouldn't be having this conversation. You and everyone else wouldn't exist. From what she said, we'd have never existed.' She shrugged, 'I don't understand that bit.'
Teoth leant forward. 'An unravelling of causality. Interesting.'
'We've heard enough,' said Krane. 'Let's not complicate the issue.'
'There is still the matter of our promise,' said Kimlesh.
'What promise?' asked Alex.
Yonna spoke. 'We promised your father that you would have a place in the courts, if you came into your power.'
'That's hardly relevant now,' said Krane.
'A promise is a promise,' said Kimlesh. 'Would you have me break my word?'
'What about me?' said Sparky.
Kimlesh shook her head. 'There was no such promise regarding you, my child.'
'I'm not a child,' said Sparky, 'and I'm not yours.'
Alex thought a little of her defiance had rubbed off on him, which was not necessarily a good thing.
'The ruling of the High Court takes precedence over a single court in matters that affect us all,' said Krane. 'There is no doubt in my mind that this affects all of us. Indeed, it could be said to affect everyone and everything.'
'Quite,' said Teoth.
'That may be so,' said Yonna, 'but all of us promised that Alex could have her place. A promise of the High Court takes higher precedence still.'
'It won't help her,' said Barthia. 'She may take her place or not as she pleases, but her fate is still a matter for the High Court.'
'I don't want your place,' said Alex. There was a silence in which Alex could hear her own heart beat.
'Be careful what you say, child,' said Kimlesh. 'You do not know the consequences…'
'I don't want a place because of some promise that you made my dad,' Alex said. 'Sparky and I, we did some things, but none of them were that bad.'
'There is the matter of Fellstamp,' said Garvin from the darkness behind them. 'He has not woken.'
'That is not a matter for the High Court,' said Yonna.
'He serves the High Court,' said Garvin, a note of challenge in his voice, 'and deserves your protection and favour.'
'Garvin has a point,' said Krane.
Kimlesh ignored Krane. 'The Warders place themselves in danger,' she said. 'We acknowledge their service, but we cannot demand blood price for every slight, no matter how grievous.'
'The Warders serve only the High Court, Lady. Can we not rely on the Court's protection in return?'
'You have our protection and confidence, Garvin, as you well know, but injuries happen. We have every hope and confidence that Fellstamp will recover and rejoin your ranks.'
'And if he doesn't?' said Garvin.
'Then we will hear your petition at that time,' said Yonna.
'This does not resolve the issue before us,' said Barthia.
'We are not here to consider the injury done to Fellstamp, but to consider the fate of these two, who have transgressed but also given good service.'
'Only through a desire to save their own skin,' said Krane.
'Can you support that statement?' asked Yonna.
Krane waved a hand. 'I am merely stating the obvious.'
'Then we agree, it is insupportable,' she said.
'Not insupportable,' said Teoth, 'just difficult to verify.'
'Are we allowing conjecture, now?' she asked Teoth.
Teoth folded his arms, refusing to be drawn to comment.
'The girl has said that she declines an offer of a place in the Courts,' said Krane, 'and the boy never earned one. We are here to consider the matter of disposition. Come, this is hardly complex. Are they more dangerous alive or dead? While admittedly they played a part in preventing calamity, they also came perilously close to precipitating the end of the everything. The two do not bear comparison.'
Mellion gestured, using one brown hand to separate two imaginary parts, one from the other.
'I think what Lord Mellion means, is that one happened,' said Yonna, 'and the other did not.'
'You are splitting whiskers,' said Teoth.
'She is stating truth,' said Barthia. 'One is fact, the other is extrapolation.'
'You know what I think,' said Alex, in a voice that cut across the argument.
They stopped arguing and turned their attention on her.
'I think,' she said, 'that you have no idea what you're talking about. You're all sitting here pontificating about something when you weren't there. You don't know what happened, or why? Do you?'
'We have a thorough report from Garvin,' said Barthia.
Alex gave a bitter laugh. 'What? The same Garvin that stayed down the bottom of the hill out of sight? That Garvin? He doesn't know what happened,' she turned. 'Do you?'
'I have reported as I witnessed,' said Garvin.
'Just say no,' said Alex. 'It's easier to understand.'
'While it's clear you played a significant role…' said Garvin.
Alex ignored him, turning back to the array of faces at the edge of the darkness. 'You take a half-seen story from someone who's already said that he wants revenge for the injury to Fellstamp,' said Alex,'which conveniently neglects to account for the fact that Fellstamp and Fionh attacked us. Fellstamp was holding a knife to my friend's throat,' she said. 'Did you forget to mention that as well, Garvin?'
'Is that true, Garvin?' asked Kimlesh.
'The Warders were doing their job,' he replied.
'So he was, then,' said Yonna.
