The two males took the seats on the left, and the females sat on the right. The door opened again, and someone Ella unfortunately recognized all too well came out.
“Oh, crap.”
“Did you speak, Soul Sucker?”
“Not to you.” She focused her gaze on the smiling face of the man she knew as Drew Spencer, the head of the SBLE in North America and possibly the rest of the known universe. She hadn’t liked him the first time she met him. He hadn’t really taken to her either.
“Why is Drew Spencer here?” she said loudly.
The Fae king looked over at her. “He is knowledgeable about both our world and the SBLE. Therefore he was acceptable to all present as an impartial judge.”
“I bet you didn’t consult Morosov about that.”
The Fae king ignored her and turned his attention back to Drew Spencer, who waited patiently by the dais.
“You may proceed.”
Spencer bowed, took his place at the center of the table and addressed the four occupants. He wore a long white robe that made him look vaguely clerical and completely judgmental.
“I will call each witness and allow you the opportunity to ask as many questions as you wish. Then, if necessary, we will hear from the defendant. After all the evidence has been presented, I will retire to consider my verdict and then present it to the court.”
The older queen nodded and clasped her hands together in front of her on the table, her head bowed. None of them appeared to have noticed Ella’s presence, although she was certain they were all aware of her. She glanced around the otherwise-deserted courtroom. Was she the only witness?
“Bring in the accused.”
A flash of light and Vadim was there, enclosed in a silver cage of pulsing energy. She attempted to touch the power source with her mind, but it seemed determined to rebuff her. If she needed to get to him, how the hell was she going to get through something she couldn’t analyze and defeat?
She stared at her mate, who was doing his best imitation of a faultless hero going to the guillotine, his face immovable and his mouth stern. Was she going to rescue him? Had that ever been in doubt?
There was a gentle cough beside her, and she turned to see Feehan and Liz sliding into the seats next to hers.
“Guys!” she whispered. “Am I glad to see you!”
“Is that Vadim?” Feehan said in her ear. “He looks...different.”
She couldn’t help snorting. “He certainly is.”
The guard cleared his throat warningly, and Ella stopped talking.
Spencer looked down at the parchment he held in his hand. “Death Bringer, you are accused of the worst crime a subject can commit in Otherworld, the spilling of Royal blood. Your
“What’s the point?”
Spencer sighed and looked beyond Vadim at the guard beside Ella.
“Please escort Mr. Feehan to the stand.”
Feehan went forward, smoothing his brown spotted tie over his rounded stomach as he passed Vadim. The Fae king stood up and bowed.
“Mr. Feehan, I understand that you are an employee of the SBLE.”
“That’s correct.”
“I also understand that the accused came to work for you this summer.”
“Yes, he did, but not looking like that.”
“How did he present himself to you?”
“As a member of a Russian SBLE team who was an expert on empaths and serial killers.”
“So he lied to you.”
Feehan shrugged. “Not really.”
“What do you mean?”
“My team is a secretive lot. They’ve had to deal with a lot of prejudice in our world. I don’t blame them if they wish to hide their pasts and their talents.”
For the first time since she’d met him, Ella wanted to give Feehan a big fat kiss.
“When did you begin to suspect that the accused was not being completely honest with you?”
“As I said, he never tried to hide his Otherworld abilities, so he was hardly being dishonest. When they were needed, like when he saved Ella from the Siren, he used them. When I asked him to take on certain tasks in the current investigation, he volunteered the information that he had contacts here in Otherworld who could help us out. So I knew he had powers.”
“But didn’t you begin to suspect he was lying to you?”
Feehan fiddled with his tiepin. “When we saw the first clear image of the killer and he looked just like Vadim, we did get a bit worried, but we cleared that up.”
“You mean he managed to deceive you as to his true purpose?”
Feehan turned to Drew Spencer. “I thought I was here as a character witness for Vadim, not to incriminate him. He isn’t on trial for anything he’s done while in my employ, is he?”
Spencer nodded. “You are correct, Mr. Feehan. I believe your questioner was trying to establish that Death Bringer is untrustworthy in all aspects of his life.”
“Which Mr. Feehan didn’t actually say.” The interruption came from Vadim’s grandmother, who smiled at a blushing Feehan. “In truth, I gather my grandson was an excellent and valued employee of yours.”
“Yes, he was...I mean, he is.” Feehan risked a glance over at Vadim. “Despite him turning into...that.”
“Thank you, Mr. Feehan.”
“You’re welcome.”
Spencer glanced at the other occupants of the table. “Does anyone have any more questions for this witness?”
No one replied, and he inclined his head toward Feehan.
“Thank you for your input. You may leave now.”
He turned sharply on his heel and was escorted out after giving Ella a wink and a thumbs-up.
“Please call Ms. Liz Goddard.”
“Wish me luck!” Liz whispered.
Vadim’s father stood and nodded at Liz.
“Ms. Goddard, you are the Fae-Web liaison in the SBLE special team?”
“Yes, I am.”
And what percentage Fae are you, roughly?”
“About thirty-five percent.”
“Can you tell us about Death Bringer and his suspicious involvement in your last case?”
Liz raised her eyebrows. “That’s hardly an unbiased question, is it? Who are you, exactly?”
“I’m his father.”
“Oh, right.” Liz blushed and looked at Spencer. “Are you okay with me sharing classified SBLE information here?”
“Please go ahead.”
“Whenever I attempted to connect up the evidence for the latest case,
“Are you suggesting that Soul Sucker was aware of the accused’s actions in this case and was helping him conceal his true motive?”
“That’s stretching it a bit. I knew Ella wasn’t quite being her normal self because of how she felt about Vadim.”
“Did you at any point confront the accused?”
