“I’ll get back to you on that.” I turned to Christian, demanding, “Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me about this before?”
He shrugged again. “I assumed you knew. You are, after all, a Zorya.”
“One who hasn’t been around the Brotherhood block,” I pointed out, watching Mattias. He was humming softly to himself, his body language relaxed and happy. “How long will he stay like that?”
“Him? Probably a couple of hours,” Rowan said with a disgusted look. “The weaker the mind, the easier it is to light-bind.”
“Glory hallelujah,” I murmured, trying to wrap my brain around the idea of such a thing. “Can I do that to anyone?”
Allie laughed. “I was just wondering the same thing.”
Christian hesitated for a second before admitting, “I understand you can, although reapers, as worshipers of the light you wield, are supposedly more susceptible. I assume it has a much shorter duration on someone who is not a reaper, or one who has a very strong presence of mind. And as you can see, the effect on someone who already has a tie to you can be quite . . . profound.”
Mattias made odd little whistling chirrups until I looked at him, at which point he simpered and said, “Pia, Pia, Pia!”
“More like drunk than bedazzled,” I said, somewhat startled by his change in behavior.
“It has been likened to that, yes,” Christian agreed.
“Do you need a hug?” Mattias asked, his face scrunched up with worry. “You’re frowning. I should hug you. And then take off all your clothes and lick-”
“No! No hugs! Or anything else. In fact, I’d like for you to just sit there quietly and not mention anything about torture or hugging. And stop doing that.”
A rapt look came over his face as he stopped making loud kissing noises. He clasped his hands together as he answered, “I will lick you later.”
I blinked at the offer. “Er . . . OK.”
Kristoff shot me a look.
“That is to say, no, thank you. Um . . . where were we?”
“I love you,” Mattias told me.
Everyone ignored him.
“Christian was just saying that he could toss everyone in jail, but he’s not going to do that because it’s patently obvious that Pia and Kristoff haven’t been separated as part of a big, elaborate plan to not only siphon away funds from widows and orphans, but also to kidnap and hide Kristoff’s oldest and dearest friend, not to mention killing off an innocent woman who hadn’t even taken up the job of Zorya, because instead of archcriminals, they are instead victims of what seems to be a really nasty twist of fate,” Allie said, smiling at her husband. “So instead of damning them for something that was not their doing, you’re going to let them go on their way so they can try to live happily ever after, not that living with a Dark One is easy by any stretch of the imagination. Isn’t that right, snuggles?”
“Our second option,” Christian said, trying to look stern, but I could have sworn his lips twitched a smidgen, “is to allow one of you to prove the innocence you so vehemently claim.”
“One of us?” I asked, my stomach feeling as if it were made of lead. “Just one?”
“How do you expect us to prove that?” Kristoff asked at the same time, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“I believe in this instance my usage of pronouns is confusing,” Christian answered. “My apologies. My intention is to allow Pia to prove both your and her innocence.”
“All right,” I said without hesitating. “If it will end all of this nonsense, I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”
“Good.” Christian glanced at the other two vampires at his table. “Then it is the decision of this council to postpone the hearing until such time as Pia has located and freed Alec, and identified the person behind his abduction.”
“What?” I almost shrieked. “Wait a second! How am I supposed to do that?”
“You are a Zorya,” Sebastian said. “You are a member of the Brotherhood no matter if you decry them or not.”
“That doesn’t mean they’re going to tell me anything if I march up and ask where they keep the captive vampires!”
I could swear I heard Kristoff snicker, but when I glanced at him, his face was without expression.
“You stand a better chance of gaining information from them than any of us do-without, that is, the use of those practices that you find objectionable.”