Velimai pointed at the circle, then at Mal, then back at the circle.

“No. I’m not going after her. Creek and I did that last time and almost got her killed. The Aurelian is not a patient woman. She’ll punish Chrysabelle if that happens again, and I won’t be the reason for that.” A shimmer of gold rippled over the blood. The portal was definitely open. “We’ll just have to wait for her to return.”

If she returns.

He closed his eyes. She would. She had to. Because if she didn’t, he would let the beast free. There was no reason not to if she was gone.

Chapter Forty-two

Chrysabelle went to her knees the moment her feet hit stone. She kept her head bowed, her mind filling in the details of the room based on what she’d seen the last time. Books and scrolls overflowing the shelves lining the walls, and before her, a massive table, also piled high with more scrolls, charts, and star maps. Seated behind it, the tall, slender Persian she’d come to see.

The Aurelian.

A chair scraped the stone floor. “You are a determined soul, aren’t you, comarré?”

Chrysabelle lifted her head. “Yes, my lady.”

The Aurelian gestured for her to rise. “You don’t belong here, not anymore. You’ve been disavowed by your house.” She laughed, a not altogether pleasant sound. “At least you didn’t bring the vampire and the Kubai Mata with you this time.”

As she got to her feet, Chrysabelle wanted to remind the Aurelian that she hadn’t actually brought them with her the last time. They’d come after her by accident, according to their side of the story. But she kept her mouth shut and let the Aurelian guide the conversation.

“What do you want, comarré? What has driven you to return to me?” Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “You should not even be fully healed from Rennata’s efforts.”

Rennata’s efforts? Is that what the Aurelian called having two strips of flesh cut from her body? “I have always been a fast healer.” The Persian had once invited Chrysabelle to call her by her name, Nadira. Doing so now could either soften the Aurelian or anger her. Chrysabelle decided to take the chance. “I am here, Nadira, because I am desperate for an answer to a question, and as every comarré knows, you are all-wise and all-knowing. The key to the past and the future lies with you.” It was almost word for word what she’d been taught about the Aurelian in school, but it was also flattering and that worked with certain types of women.

Nadira’s smile extended into her coal-black eyes. “That is so.” Her fingers traced the hilt of the massive sword resting across the front of the table. “But first you will answer some for me. Where did you find a skilled signumist willing to work on you?”

“Who said he was willing?” Atticus had been kind to her. She would do nothing to cause him harm. If that meant protecting him with a lie, so be it.

Nadira crossed her arms. “Where did you acquire the sacred gold?”

“For the right price, anything can be had.”

Nadira’s smile vanished. “You try me. You expect answers but give me none?”

“My lady, I simply seek to protect those whose part in this is inconsequential.”

Nadira went still for a long moment. “I will accept that. What is it you wish to know?”

A shiver of excitement shook Chrysabelle. At last. “I come seeking my brother’s name.”

“You ask a question I can’t answer.”

The shiver of excitement turned into a tremor of anger. “Are you saying there is something you don’t know?”

Nadira’s gaze darkened. “I’m saying you’ve been disavowed by your house. That information belongs to the Primoris Domus. A house you can no longer claim.”

“Last time you told me I would know him by his signum. You have to give me more than that, please. That means nothing to me.”

“You’ve wasted your energy, comarré.” She walked back behind the desk and sat. “Return to your home. Forget the way here, because I will not allow a third visit.”

Chrysabelle began to seethe. This woman would stand on propriety now? “Do you know what I have endured to return here?” Chrysabelle thrust her arm out, pointing to the shelves behind the Aurelian. “The books behind you are marked Primoris Domus. Get the right one down and read his name to me.”

Nadira burst to her feet. “How dare you speak to me that way. Get out. Now.”

“Not until I have his name. That information is nothing to you, and Rennata never needs to know. Give it to me and I will leave, never to return.”

The Aurelian planted her fists on the table. “You should not even know you have a brother.”

“But I do.” Chrysabelle wished she’d taken the time to change into something besides her robe. Something she could fight in. Something she could fight better in. “Can you tell me anything about him? Anything at all? Is he even alive?”

“He lives.”

“Then you do know about him.” Chrysabelle began to tremble, from rage or some other emotion, she couldn’t tell. “His name. Please.”

“No.”

Then she would get the name herself. Fueled by anger and the reckless knowledge that Rennata had already renounced her, Chrysabelle leaped forward, vaulting onto Nadira’s desk and reaching for the Primoris Domus register.

With a cry, Nadira swung her massive sword up. The metal flashed in the glow of the candelabras lighting the room.