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Unaware of the threat, she giggled and blushed.

:Sorry,: I told him. :We should have made sure to arm you all before we left the house.:

:Not to worry, my queen. Any Blood could kill with a rusty spoon if I had to, but the knife will give me a little more reach.:

Sekh gave him a nod across the table. :I’ve got the one on this side.:

Even though none of us had seen Gerard handle a swordsman, especially one of the Dauphine’s Blood’s caliber, no one questioned him. I had to assume there was a reason Marne had chosen not to let any of my mother’s former Blood carry a weapon.

:He’s too modest to brag,: Lew said. :He trained with Edoardo Mangiarotti and Valentina Vezzali in Italy, widely regarded as the best fencers in human history.:

Grinning, Gerard gave a sheepish shrug. :It was our queen’s idea.:

My heart. Goddess. Of course she would make sure I had fencing masters in my Blood to join the fight against the Dauphine’s swordsmen.

Rik’s palm weighed heavier on my shoulder, soothing and confident, reminding me to stay relaxed. I touched my siblings’ and consiliari’s bonds so they knew something was coming. :Everything’s okay. Keep talking like normal. We’re going to get a little demonstration shortly.:

I took a deep, controlled breath, letting my body soften in my chair. I made myself look at Carys rather than the man I could see in my peripheral vision slowly making his way through the tables behind Guillaume. “What did you have in the large orange bag?”

To me, her eyes were rounder and larger than usual, her voice a little high, though she replied easily. “Oh, a simply glorious handbag in crocodile leather with white-gold hardware. I’ve been hoping they’d offer it to me for ages.”

:Pretend it’s a game,: Guillaume reminded me. :Just part of the evening’s entertainment. We are completely in control, my queen.: A heartbeat passed. Another. Letting the men get very close. :Engage.:

Guillaume didn’t even turn around. Not yet. He shoved his right hand backward, jamming a short blade into the man’s abdomen. With his left hand, he seized the man’s wrist, pulling him in closer, whirling almost like they were dancing. The sword clattered against the marble floor, and he smoothly kicked it beneath the table out of sight. As the man went down toward the floor, Guillaume adjusted to grip his nape, deliberately jamming his head into the table with a sickening crunch. Evidently the table was marble or stone not wood. Our cutlery barely jingled.

Standing like a sleek statue in his pristine black suit, Sekh didn’t even move. The attacker’s blade stabbed into his back. Metal pinged, and the thin, delicate blade broke against the stone sphinx who stands guard for all time. Spinning, Sekh grabbed his sword arm, twisted his wrist, and pulled him in to stab himself on his own shattered blade. Dragging it up. Side to side. Scrambling his insides.

Then Sekh carelessly tossed him beneath the table.

Xin grabbed his target from behind, slit his throat, and simply pulled him backwards, dragging him back toward the front door. Moving so fast it looked like the attacker simply floated on thin air.

Gerard swung around with the small steak knife in his right hand, his left arm curled upward. “En garde!”

Clapping, I forced out a laugh. “Oh, marvelous. I didn’t know there would be a performance.”

The enemy attacked, his light blade dancing side to side. Even though the steak knife was barely eight inches long, Gerard easily countered the man’s foil. All while grinning ear to ear. “Prêts! Allez! Hup! Oh, good flèche, sir. But not good enough. Och, you’re off balance now and vulnerable to my riposte. Touché, touché, touché.” With each touch, red welled on the attacker’s throat and chest.

Gerard grabbed the man’s left hand, making it look like they were shaking hands.

Even though the steak knife was buried in the man’s heart.

“Well done, good match, sir. I’ll show him out, my queen.”

I clapped again, smiling at him. “What an incredible show. Thank you, Gerard.”

Applause rippled through the restaurant. No one seemed to notice the blood, or if they did, they thought it was special effects. He locked an arm around the man’s waist. Vore joined him on the other side, and they hustled him toward the front door. Hopefully Vore could have a nice snack without fully shifting and risking his beautiful black silk shirt with red and gold embroidery.

:By the grace of your bond, I’m able to control the shift enough to keep my clothes tidy, my queen.:

:Perfect. What about the ones under the table?:

:We’ll be gone before anyone notices,: Sekh said.

“That was marvelous,” I announced as I started to stand. Several of the waitstaff approached the table, so I smiled and inclined my head. “Thank you so much for an incredible meal.”

Gina presented a black credit card for the meal and in minutes we walked outside to get into the waiting Isador cars.

“Whew,” she said, shaking her head. “I left an even more generous tip than usual to cover the cleanup.”