Page 119 of Made

“Your conclusion is harsh. Everyone knows Sforza parties are flexible.”

“Meaning that anyone can attend? Invited or not?”

“More or less.”

I wasn’t getting anywhere with this so I changed tactic. “For now, let’s set aside the question of whether or not you should’ve been at the Bergatti’s party to begin with. Let’s talk about your contention that the countess fairly consented to the infidelity. Were all the females at the party drawn to you in the same way as the countess?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I chose her.”

“You chose her,” I repeated. “Does that mean that you’re able to turn sexual magnetism on and off?”

He laughed out loud. I was grateful to Serafina for whatever protection she’d given me, but it had apparently been the fae dose and not the human dose because I was still feeling the effects. The sight of his face in laughter, perfect teeth that couldn’t be whiter, pale eyes twinkling like sun on water… It was too much. I grabbed my wolf pendant, though it did nothing for my purchase. My traitor of a body still began its descent, sliding down my chair toward the dark hole under the bench.

Lochlan interrupted the slide with a touch on my shoulder. “Magistrate. Where are you going?” He said without ever moving his lips.

I wanted to ask if he’d ever thought of taking up ventriloquism, but I was in the middle of a court proceeding. I quickly straightened and got hold of myself vowing to be unaffected by the creature’s beauty.

“Jet,” I said. “Please answer the question.”

“Yes,” he replied. “It’s a tool.”

“A tool,” I repeated. “So, tell me. How often have females resisted your tool?”

I felt, rather than saw, Keir give me an incredulous look. I supposed I hadn’t thought that sentence through before speaking.

“Never,” he said with a grin expressing extraordinary pride.

“In that case, we can set aside the part of the plaintiff’s argument that suggests the countess was a consenting adult.” It was Bogdan’s turn to let his eyelids slide closed, but for entirely different reasons, of course. “You were a trespasser atthe couples’ party, who deliberately came between them and threatened their marriage. Can you name a good reason why the count shouldn’t have the right to defend his home, his wife, and his marriage?”

Jet Darius looked fully serious for the first time. “He hurt me.”

“I can see that. The question is whether or not you deserved it.”

I could be mistaken, but I thought I heard Bogdan gasp a little before saying, “Your Honor, that’s…”

I banged my gavel once. “Mr. Bogdan. You haven’t been invited to speak. Do you have an objection?”

He couldn’t object. Objecting to my assessment certainly wouldn’t serve his client’s best interest.

“No, Magistrate.”

“I find in favor of the defendant.” To Jet Darius, I said, “You’re lucky I don’t find cause to assess damages from you. So far as I’m concerned, you are both villain and culprit. Case dismissed.”

Though I wouldn’t want it shared with my staff, I was glad for having set Lochlan’s concerns aside. What I’d thought was a mistake on my part turned out to be a happy accident. Had I not experienced the power of the sylph’s allure firsthand, I wouldn’t be privy to the fact that no female targeted by these creatures is safe from compulsion.

He accepted the decision wordlessly. However, I won’t soon forget the look he gave me. It suggested a seething hatred that outshone even that of the war god, Tyr. It also suggested that the now-former plaintiff wasn’t used to being told no.

My pondering whether Keir had seen it, too, lasted mere seconds before my peripheral vision captured explosive movement to my left. The enforcer had been roused which made it likely that, yes, Keir had seen it, too. While there’sno courtroom decorum guideline that mentions dirty looks, the sephalian clearly didn’t like it.

Keir was on the floor, a couple of steps below my bench, standing a few feet in front of Jet Darius. The enforcer had maintained biped form, for the moment, but was strongly suggesting, by his physical presence, that the sylph move on. Bogdan, seeing the situation could easily escalate into an incident, appeared to be trying to persuade his client to walk away. Darius was not looking convinced.

When Keir added a snarl to the threat implied by his proximity, Darius leaped up and lunged toward Keir in one continuous motion, touching the plaintiff’s table with his right foot on the way. That sent papers flying, which was unimportant except that the sight seemed to add tension.

The instant the sylph had jumped into the air, his looks were transformed. Considerably. And probably involuntarily.