Assassin's Honor (50 page)

           
"Yes," he said quietly as he turned away from her and stared out the window.

           
Phae moved to stand beside him and leaned her head against his shoulder to look out the window with him. They didn't speak, and it reminded him of when they'd first gone to live with Atia at her house in Chicago. Phae had shadowed him like a ghost that first year. She'd hardly left his side.
And the tears.
At nighttime, he'd often gone to her room to quiet her sobbing. He'd always looked after her. Now he was about to leave her alone.

           
"You're going to be all right without me, Phae." He smiled as she lifted her head to look at him. "And whenever you're down, you'll have Lysander to torment."

           
His sister choked out a laugh as she shook her head at him. She never got a chance to reply as Atia's voice echoed behind them.

           
"It's time."

           
The abrasive words filled the large room like a gunshot. Phae jerked beside him and they both turned to face the Prima Consul. His godmother looked tired. He regretted hurting her. For the past week, they'd argued until they were both hoarse.

           
Atia's solution had been for Emma to be brought to White Cloud and be told exactly what would happen if he broke the blood bond. He'd immediately rejected the idea. He wanted Emma, but only on her terms. She'd lived with guilt for most of her life, and he'd be damned if he was going to add to her anguish. He crossed the floor and took Atia's hands in his.

           
"I know you don't understand my reasoning, but this is the right thing to do. I've dragged Emma into too many situations that weren't by choice, and I won't force more on her. She's better off without me."

           
"No, she's not. She deserves to know how you feel about her." The Prima Consul shook her head vehemently as she tightened her grip on his hands. "Why must you always be so stubborn?"

           
"Because somebody has to see to it that you don't get your way all the time." The wry smile tugging at his mouth hurt. "Let's get this over with."

           
Without waiting for her answer, he walked out into the hall and down the corridor toward the Council room. As he entered the chamber, he saw that the gallery was nearly full, and all the Council members were seated with only Atia's chair empty. Obviously, people were expecting a show. He tightened his jaw at what was to come. Compared to baring his soul here, exile would be easy.

           
An image of Emma swept through his head. Deus, he'd been missing her since leaving Chicago, but knowing that in minutes he'd be giving her up forever gouged a hole in his chest where his heart used to be. It hurt worse than the beating he'd taken the night he'd gone through the gauntlet. Muscles taut with tension, he walked to the center of the room and faced the two semicircular rows of Council members.

           
Behind him, more than a hundred Sicari sat in four tiers of seats overlooking the proceedings. Their censorious eyes only amplified his tension. It was no coincidence that the brightest lights in the room shone down on the spot where he stood, while the second spotlighted the seat the Prima Consul occupied. The remaining lighting was dim and gave the room the appearance of an inquisition courtroom.

           
The Council room door opened again and Atia entered followed by Phae. He cast them both a brief glance before returning his gaze to his godmother's empty seat. It took her more than a minute to reach her seat as she consulted with several Council members. Christus, did she have to drag out this bloodbath?

           
When she finally sat down in her seat, she looked at him then glanced toward the door. The expression on her face reflected disappointment and he frowned. He knew that look. Had she planned something?
An interruption that wasn't going according to her plan?
She cleared her voice.

           
"Ares DeLuca.
You've asked the Council to grant you desponsatio annullatus for the blood bond that exists between you and the aliena, Emma Zale."

           
"Yes." The silence was hard and unyielding, but he was certain he heard someone draw in a sharp breath despite the size of the room.
Phae.

           
"Do you make this request of your own free will?"

           
"Yes." His voice rang out clearer in the air than Atia's had, and he saw her wince.

           
"You understand the seriousness of this request?"

           
Her gaze flitted to the main entrance of the room before darting back to him.
Fotte.
She had planned something. She was stalling.

           
"Begging the indulgence of the Prima Consul and the Council, but there seems no point in delaying the proceedings with questions as to my understanding of the request or its consequences." He glared at her for a long moment.

           
"Forgive me, Madame Consul, but for once I must agree with Legatus DeLuca. Is there a point to dragging out this little drama?"

           
Cato. His gaze shifted to the Council member's face and the smug expression the man wore. The man had hated him since his teen years when he'd thwarted Cato's attempt to slander Atia and prevent her election to the Council. Ares narrowed his eyes before directing a cold smile at the short, rotund Council member.

           
"A rare day, indeed, when we agree on anything, Cato.
I don't believe I've ever heard you speak with such brief eloquence or minor self-interest."

           
Again, the audience behind him stirred, only this time with amusement. Unlike the great Roman orator who was his namesake, Cato was best known for long-winded speeches that always served to benefit himself in one way or another. The man's round face went beet red with anger, and Ares sent the Council member an arched look before turning his attention back to Atia. An expression of pride flashed across her pale face.

           
"Under what grounds do you ask the Council to grant the desponsatio annullatus?"

           
The pain on Atia's face made him hesitate in replying. Merda, he hadn't realized how hard it would be on her, and while he couldn't see Phae, he was certain she wasn't faring any better than the Prima Consul.
First Emma and now them.
He swallowed the knot in his throat and nodded.

           
"The desponsatio annullatus should be granted because I sealed the blood bond without telling Emma Zale what the consequences were."

           
The words twisted their way through his gut as the rustling in the gallery behind him reflected the anger and disgust on the faces of the Council members. For him to admit such a thing was like admitting to a rape, even if the sex sealing the blood bond had been consensual. Christus, this was going to be every bit as unpleasant as he'd expected. Voices carried through the Council chamber doors, and seconds later, Lysander burst through the door with Cleo in tow. As the two of them parted ranks, Emma strode into view.

           
The sight of her ripped at his insides. Deus, now that she was here, he wasn't sure he could go through with this thing. She was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, and the determined look on her face made his gut lurch. She wasn't here to observe. His gaze flew back to Atia and his heart sank. The satisfaction on the Prima Consul's face said it all. The only reason Emma had come here was because Atia had sent for her. Fotte, he didn't want her like this. Desperate to save Emma from doing something foolish, he reached out with his thoughts and gently forced his godmother to look at him.

           
"The request has been made, Madame Consul. You must grant the petition for desponsatio annullatus."

           
"And I refuse this desponsatio . . . annulas . . . anulltus . . . whatever the hell you want to call it." Emma's voice rang out as she walked toward him. "Like most men, he didn't bother to ask if it's what I wanted."

           
"What have I told you about interfering in Sicari matters?" he growled as he whirled to face her and brought her to a dead halt with his mind.

           
"Not to," she said with a shrug. "But when have I ever listened to you?"

           
He glared at her as he heard snorts of repressed laughter from the gallery. "Get the hell out of here, Emma. Let me make things right."

           
"Prima Consul, what happens if I refuse this desponsatio thing?" She arched her eyebrow at Ares as she defiantly pushed against his mental hold.

           
"Then the bond remains sealed." He heard the note of complacency in Atia's voice.

           
"Which means he's stuck with me, correct?" Emma said with a note of hard satisfaction.

           
"Correct."
Again that smug note in his godmother's voice.

           
"Deus damno id, Emma.
Don't do this."

           
"Don't do what? Keep you from being thrown out of the Order?" She blew out a harsh breath of anger.

           
"Merda, don't you see it was the only thing I could do?" His heart ached.

           
"No, I don't. I thought you were just doing what I asked--giving me time to adjust to everything that had happened. I thought you'd at least wait and give me a chance to come to you. Instead, I have to hear from someone else that you're breaking our blood bond.
Walking out on me.
You decided to play the martyr instead of asking me point-blank whether this is what I really want. You took the coward's way out," she snapped, her eyes blazing with anger. Her words made him jerk his head back at the vicious note in her voice. Mater Dei, she knew how to hit him where it hurt.

           
"Christus, Emma--"

           
"No. It's your turn to listen to me for a change, and I want the truth. Why are you breaking our blood bond?"

           
"Because it's the right thing to do."

           
"That's not why, and you know it. Tell me the truth. For once, just tell me the truth." There was
a desperation
in her voice that edged its way across his back like a sharp blade.

           
"Because I love you," he rasped softly.

           
Eyes brimming with tears, she shuddered, and his heart slammed into his chest at her expression. The emotion he saw on her face ignited a sense of hope inside him that he'd lost more than a week ago. Was it possible she'd come here for some other reason than agreeing to his godmother's request? The sensation of invisible fingertips and warm hands on his face made him jump. Christus, she'd learned to control her new ability.

           
"Say it again," she demanded. "Only this time, make sure everyone in this room hears it."

           
"I love you, Emma Zale." His declaration echoed through the hall as he arched his eyebrows at her.

           
"Retract the request," she said with that stubborn look of hers he loved so well.

           
"Give me a reason to." Confidence began to spread its way through his body and he sent her a small, arrogant smile.

           
"Let me go and I'll show you."

           
The minute he released his mental hold on her, she eliminated the distance between them and flung her arms around his neck. "I love you. Does that suffice as reason enough?"

           
"Yes," he murmured as his mouth slid over hers in a deep kiss. As he raised his head, he met her warm, loving gaze. "I adore you, Emma."

           
"I know," she said quietly. "I knew it the minute Lysander told me what you were giving up by breaking our blood bond. I just needed to hear you say it."

           
"I'll never stop saying it, amore mia," he whispered as he kissed her again.

           
"Madame Consul, we still have a request on the floor. We should act on it." Cato's plaintive voice rolled out over the soft rumblings of conversation in the room.

           
Without releasing Emma from his arms, Ares looked up at the Prima Consul. The smug smile on her face made him wince before he nodded in her direction. "I withdraw my petition for the desponsatio annullatus."

           
"The petition is withdrawn," Atia proclaimed loudly. "The proceedings--"

           
"One moment, Madame Consul.
There is still the matter of Legatus DeLuca's failure to inform the young woman as to the consequences of the blood bond."

           
Slowly putting Emma away from him, Ares turned to see Cato watching him. The smug expression on the man's face said he was immensely pleased with himself, and Ares knew he wasn't out of the woods yet. Atia, a frown on her face, turned toward the stout Council member.