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the Blood during the negotiations.
    Guy’s gaze locked with mine. “I’m well aware of the politics. I’m the one out there keeping the peace.”
    “And I’m the one patching up the casualties. I see just as much as you.” I leaned in closer. The wooden chair dug into the backs of my thighs, unyielding as Guy himself. “You always said there were things worth fighting for.”
    He looked at me for a long moment. “I thought you’d given up fighting.”
    “Just because I don’t swing a sword doesn’t mean I’m not fighting.”
    “Some things you should walk away from,” Guy said quietly. There was sorrow in his eyes. Old pain. I imagined the same showed in mine.
    “That’s my decision to make.”
    Guy sighed, then shook his head. “You’re serious about this? You think you can convince her? Why?”
    Instinct. That was why. My gut told me there was someone behind the ice of those gray eyes. Someone who wanted out. “Call it faith, if you would.”
    That earned me a look of exasperation. But Guy at least stayed put. “What exactly are you suggesting? How would you even get near her?”
    “From what I hear, Lucius keeps her on a short leash. Where he goes, she goes. So we find out where he’s going to be—one of the Assemblies would be best. That’s where your informants come in. They find out where she’s going to be. I go in and find her and talk to her.”
    “And how do you get out again? Even if she does agree?”
    “She’s a wraith. She can walk out unseen.” And as long as there was no trouble, there was no reason I couldn’t get in and out of an Assembly unmolested if I disguised myself somewhat. “I’ll leave the way I came.”
    “You’re assuming there’ll be no trouble. What if she objects to your proposal?”
    “If I can’t defeat her, you only have yourself to blame, don’t you?”
    “I taught you just fine. If you get beaten by a girl, then it’s nothing to do with me.” For a moment his eyes lightened, but then they turned grim again. “This is risky.”
    “I’ll have you as backup,” I pointed out.
    He shook his head. “As plans go, it’s kind of thin. You’re putting a lot of faith in a woman who tried to kill you. And if you fail to convince her, Lucius will have an even better reason to come after you.”
    “Isn’t it worth the risk?”
    Guy looked down at the table for a moment—I wondered if he was praying for the strength not to flatten me—then his eyes rose. “It is if you succeed. If you don’t, we might be worse off. Tell you what, little brother. Let’s make a deal. You try it your way. If she won’t come, then we do things my way.”
    My stomach tensed, the whiskey taste in my mouth suddenly sour. “Your way?”
    “We take her anyway.”
    Kidnap her? I ignored my instinctive protest, forced myself to consider the offer. Even if she didn’t come voluntarily, she would be away from Lucius and we had a chance of getting her to help us.
    And I might be able to help her. But I had to make sure I wouldn’t be trading her from one hell to another. I met Guy’s gaze, mouth set. “No torture. You can hold her but not hurt her. I’ll even help you hold her. But only if you swear. Lock her up, keep her where she can’t do any more harm, but any information she gives us, she does so freely.” Time enough to worry about what might happen if she wouldn’t cooperate if it came to that. If Guy gave his word, he would stand by it. She wouldn’t be hurt.
    Guy started to shake his head. “I—”
    I cut him off. “Your oath. Right here. Or we forget the whole thing. Besides, if she testifies and the Fae suspect she’s under duress, they won’t accept it, you know that.”
    “The Fae aren’t the only ones who could benefit from what she might know.”
    “Your oath or nothing.”
    “You’d throw away this chance because of your precious healer morals?”
    “If we throw away our morals to win, then we’re no better than Lucius,” I said steadily.