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Although he wanted to tell her, he couldn’t. If things went against him, as he suspected, people needed to believe he didn’t hold her in the highest of regards. His enemies were watching. At the very least, he could remove the threat of retaliation against her.

“Now, do you understand?” Damian was saying.

Eight of the remaining eleven council members nodded. Three appeared disturbed and volleyedconcernedglances between the defendant’s table and the Aether.

“Denillia was acting on her mother’s behalf in most instances,” Melvin Glen confessed when pressed. Sweat poured profusely down his face, and he repeatedly sent Trevor wary looks, no doubt fearing immediate retaliation.

Justice wouldn’t be swift, but it would happen. If Trev couldn't do it, he’d find someone whowasn’t hindered.

“Trevor Blane, please rise,” Councilman Reed said.

Soleil’s tormented eyes met Trevor’s as he stood, and he opened his mind to her one last time.

“It’s okay, Dalli. No matter what the outcome, you’re going to be safe.”

Seeming to be dismissive, she looked away, and his heart thumped painfully in his chest. As much as he probably earned her scorn, he didn’t want her to hate him.

“I don’t care about my welfare, you idiot. I’m worried about yours.”

He released a breath he hadn’t been aware of holding.“You should always care about yourself first, sweetheart. Especially in instances like this.”

“Is that why you stole one of the vials?”

Trevor fought a grin.“You know it.”

“I hope you use it on that warthog, Agnes Vector.”

“If I’ve never said it, I’m saying it now. I appreciate the fuck out of your savage tendencies. You’re the perfect DeathDealermate.”

She spared him a glance but was quick to look away, understanding the need for their surreptitious conversation.“But not yours?”

“It can’t be mine, Dalli. We have no future. If the Authority doesn’t recall or end my life, the threat of Agnes’s pre-programmed trigger lies between us. I won’t take the risk.”

“Shouldn’t that be my call to make, Trev? It’s my life at stake, after all..”

“No, because I’d have to live with the devastation. I won’t do that. I can’t.”

A short, barely perceptible nod indicated her understanding, but he sensed she disagreed. The heaviness of grief clogged his throat, and though he sensed some of it was hers, he knew the bulk of it belonged to him.

For a distraction, he tuned into what Damian was saying.

“Again, I ask you to consider thatMr. Blane’s powers were removed,” he argued.

“But they can be restored by you,” Councilwoman Doyle countered.

“Actually,they can’t.” With an elegant shrug of his shoulders, Damian cast her a faux sheepish smile. “I didn’t keep them for myself. I used his abilities against him to obliterate the magic itself. I swear on my soul, I cannot restore Trevor Blane’s powers.”

To a man or woman, the Authority was stunned by the Aether’s statement.

Trevor cast him a sharp look, wishinglike hellhe hadn’t given up his tanzanite ring so he knew what was going through the man’s clever mind.If one spark of Trevor’s power remained, it would regenerate, making a liar of Damian. The Authority would call him to task.

Soleil’s delight tickled his mind, and Trevor glanced down at her with a frown.

“It’s not technically a lie.”Her full, cherry-colored lips curledeverso distractingly, and he had to concentrate on hernextcomment.“He's unable to restore your power, but if, as you suspect, a spark remains, you can regenerate it yourself.”

Christ almighty!He hadn’t even considered it!The act ofleaving any of his magic behind was reckless on Damian’s part. What if Trev used it to hurt Soleil?

“We’re going to find that trigger or eliminate the threat, babe,”she telegraphed.“Count on it.”