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Thank you Captain Obvious. I put the venison strips into the cooler. “I'd like to get this message back to the Capital as soon as possible. I don't think it's a good one to send over comm.”
“Agreed,” said Joan.
Her night flying was as terrifying as her day flying.
Once home, I used Walker’s secure comm to send the message to Silver’s and then went to bed.
When I checked my messages after sending the message, I discovered the summons to court had arrived. I was scheduled to appear tomorrow afternoon. Silver was pulling strings to make the wheels of justice turn blindingly fast. Especially since he was suing me for medical bills from the accident. He claimed it was my fault somehow.
I tried the door to Walker’s workroom the next morning. I wanted to see if he’d put the communication spell on the shadow. The door wouldn’t yield to my touch, though it didn’t attack me either.
“Mama?” Dmitri met me down the hall, Kara trailing after him. I picked him up.
“Yes?”
“Are you staying forever now?”
My stomach twisted. “No, boyo. Mama will have to go later, but not today.”
He laid his head on my shoulder, smearing something across my shirt. I settled on the couch in the living area, waving Kara away, and let him drift off. I’d hold him until I needed to leave for the court appearance.
Carl slipped in. “Thank you,” he said, his voice pitched low. Dmitri didn’t stir.
I tilted my head in question, not wanting to speak and wake Dmitri.
“Mr. Dumont gave me the job. So I’ll be here with Kara and Dmitri until you get back from court. And when the house is repaired, I’ll be live-in security. Mother agreed. Which means Walker won’t have a problem with it either.” Carl’s grim was bright enough to light the room.
My comm pinged. Silver’s tone.I’m here. We’re going to the session together.
I passed Dmitri to Carl and went out. Silver and I didn’t speak as we rode the people movers to the courthouse. Since I was in the Capitol, the opposing lawyers insisted on all being physically present at the trial.
Silver was my counsel of record, as well as my geas holder—none of which had been mentioned in the briefs. I was curious why the fact I was an Indentured had never been mentioned in any of the filings. It looked like he was willing to blow that cover identity to smithereens.
Simply, since I was indentured, any action brought against me was being brought against the Wardens. It should have been summarily dismissed.
When the opposing lawyer walked in, his eyes went to my onyx, then to Silver. His thin cheeks flushed, and he turned to his client. The old man glared at us, face going sallow, then the lawyer asked permission to approach the judge.
After a few moments, the gavel banged. “The suit’s been dropped,” said the judge.
Silver smiled. “Good, I’d like to press charges for Alys Stormdust-Quinn, in reference to the sexual assault on the dance floor,” he purred. I didn’t need to touch him to feel the satisfaction he radiated. Silver must lead a frustrated life in the Guild, since he wanted to see justice done.
There was a lot of yelling and arguing after that.
When we left, Silver was in as sunny a mood as I’d ever seen from him.
“So, if I pull this off and you find the evidence you’re hoping for, what are the odds of me getting my sentence shortened?” I asked in a soft voice as we walked back.
“Better than zero. Especially since you’ve found a passionate advocate.” Silver’s glance at me held an ocean of sardonic amusement. “One who’s persistent, too. Just don’t get in any trouble in the short-term, Alys, that will make your chances even better. It looks like it’ll be another few days to solidify your cover, so just stay home, play with your son, and don’t get into any fights.”
I could do that. Especially knowing Walker was doing everything he could to get me free.
When I got home, I had to struggle not to comm Walker again. He’d only been gone two days, but he was too nice to be out in the world without a keeper. I wanted to see him again before I had to leave.
Missing him was strange. I was used to missing family, like Ethan, but men? Not so much. But I found myself thinking about him, not just the sex, though I missed that too, I just wished he was here. ‘Mitri kept doing incredibly cute things, and I would want to tell Walker about them. Even stranger, wanting time with him where we could learn more about each other, our regrets, and even our hopes, just more time for us to simply be.
At least I had Dmitri with me. After he finished watching his holo on dinosaurs, I pulled him into my lap.
“Mama has to leave in a few days, boyo.”
