“Sure, but there wasn’t a problem. When I asked him publicly what was going on, he was more than willing to help. He offered to get us any information we needed from his contacts in Otherworld.”
The Fae queen spoke up for the first time. “So, in fact he offered to help you with the investigation, not hinder you?”
Liz turned gratefully toward the queen. “Yes, that’s exactly it.”
“But Ms. Goddard,” the king interrupted. “Are you saying your Fae-Web was wrong? I didn’t believe that was possible.”
“My Fae-Web reached a series of conclusions that are always open to interpretation. Once I was assured that Vadim intended to help us chase down the face stealer, I knew the issues would be resolved.”
“And were they?”
Liz hesitated. “To a certain degree.”
The Fae king bowed. “Your loyalty to your team and its members does you credit, Ms. Goddard, but even you aren’t prepared to lie for him completely. The accused’s offer to help you might have allayed some of your fears, but I bet it brought up a hundred new ones.”
He turned to address Spencer. “Let me recap. In essence Ms. Goddard is saying that despite her desire to believe that ‘Vadim’ meant well, her Fae-Web chose not to trust him, and placed him squarely in the center of the case.”
“
It was the question that was bothering Ella too. She looked at Vadim, but he appeared lost in a trance, his brow furrowed, his gaze inward. This was one crazy trial process, when the prosecutors could ask loaded questions and the overall judge was a man who’d shown open dislike for Vadim when they last met. What chance did he have for a fair hearing?
“Thank you, Ms. Goddard.”
Liz waved as she passed Ella but didn’t get to stop and chat.
The Fae king continued to stand and stare at his wife. “As to your question, my queen, all will be answered in good time.”
“Yeah, right,” Ella muttered.
“Call Rossa.”
The blond Fae appeared in front of Ella, blew her a hasty kiss and strolled over to the stand, where he bowed to the assembled line of Royal Fae.
This time it was the older Fae queen who started the questioning.
“Rossa, you have been my appointed guardian for my grandson since he left Otherworld.”
“I have.”
“Do you believe he sought this latest conflict with Adam and the sect?”
He considered her. “No, actually, I don’t think he did. In fact, he was absolutely furious about it.”
“And why was that?”
“Because his life had changed. He was mated, and able to live in the world of the humans for as long as he liked.”
“So you don’t believe this was an elaborate plot to return to Otherworld to avenge his wrongs?”
“Not at all. He only came back to stop them getting his mate.” His gaze scanned the table. “You all know that. I told you.”
“Yes, you did, with your usual ability to play both sides.” The king looked across at his mother-in-law. “He was working for me, too.”
“I knew that. He is also in the pay of the Dark Lord.”
The white-haired man nodded. “The dark king likes to keep an eye on his progeny, as well. After the rift developed with his family here, the king was rather disappointed that Death Bringer didn’t bring his outstanding talents straight to him.” He looked over at Vadim. “The offer still stands, my boy.”
“Over my dead body.” The Fae king snapped. “I’ve spent my entire existence keeping him out of your foul realm.”
Spencer held up his hands. “Can we resume? I have a question for Rossa myself, if I may.”
“Of course.” Rossa was all smiles again.
“You believe Death Bringer will do anything necessary to safeguard his mate?”
“Naturally.”
“Would he kill for her?” He glanced down at his notes. “Is it true that he threatened to annihilate his entire family if Adam was allowed to complete his task and steal Ms. Walsh’s face?”
Rossa’s smile disappeared. “Adam went back on our agreement, so technically Death Bringer is in the right if he wishes to claim vengeance. But I don’t see him carrying out his threat yet, do you?”
“That’s because he’s been restrained since he got here.”
“I suspect he’s just allowing you to restrain him until he gets what he wants.”
“Which is?”
“His mate’s safety.”
“Which brings us back to the point of this trial, the deaths of other family members who stood in his way, Nia and Ciaran.” Spencer paused. “So if, as you state, Death Bringer is prepared to execute his entire family to defend his mate, killing off a couple more of them wouldn’t be a big deal to him, would it? Thank you, Rossa.”
Rossa gave Ella a slight apologetic shrug as he walked past, and she glared at him. It was no wonder there hadn’t been anyone pursuing her. Rossa had been spying for everyone. She’d been merrily entertaining her keeper all by herself. She glanced impatiently over at Spencer. Were they going to call her as a witness, or was she just supposed to sit around and watch them annihilate Vadim? It was hardly fair.
“The court calls Adam.”
“What the hell?” Ella blurted out.
She sat up as her least favorite person in the world appeared in front of the judge. A hand clamped down on her shoulder and she glared up at the guard.
“Adam, I believe you have evidence that is relevant to this trial.”
“I do, sir. I am also confident that anything that is revealed within these walls will stay here.”
“As we agreed.” Spencer smiled. “Then please continue. Why were you hunting trophies in the human world?”
“It’s nothing new. We’ve been hunting there for centuries.”
“But why did you involve my grandson?” the old queen asked.
“Because of the nature of the request.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I was required to find three faces.”
“You were specifically requested not to take the face of Death Bringer’s mate.”
“That is what I was originally told, yes.” Adam hesitated. “I must admit, I was surprised at the change in plans. When I met with Death Bringer at the hospital, I realized it had been a mistake after all.”
“You refused to carry out a direct order from Fae royalty. Doesn’t that make you as much a traitor as my grandson?”
“Not when he was the one to retract the demand.”
Vadim looked up for the first time, and Ella evaded her guard and shot to her feet. “That’s ridiculous!” She stared at Spencer. “Why are you even listening to this crap? This idiot stole my face! Make him give it back!”
“Please be quiet, Ms. Walsh. You will have your opportunity to speak later. Adam is not on trial here.” Spencer pointed at her seat. “If you can’t sit down, you will have to leave the courtroom.”
The queen raised her hand. “I will ask the same question, then. Why would my son allow you to steal the face of his mate?”
Adam waited until everyone was quiet again. “Because he wanted an excuse to return to Otherworld and complete his destruction of his own bloodline.”
Spencer stared at Adam. “Why on earth should we believe you?”
“He was using her to get back here.” Adam said patiently. “Doesn’t it make a perfect kind of sense? Look at
