summoned her when I did, and that she was in danger and couldn't stay or she'd be killed."
"She is a virtue," Theo said as he rubbed his chin. The sweep of his thumb across his square chin distracted me for a moment, but I was firm with myself and looked at the grain of the wood in the door behind him, instead. "She cannot die unless she is removed from the Court. If she was in danger from someone, that would explain why I had such a difficult time tracking her down...Very well, continue. Who did she say she was in danger from?"
"From whom," Sarah corrected with a smile. Theo looked at her. "Sorry. I'm a writer. It's second nature."
"She didn't say. She just told me she was in danger, and that if she stayed, all would be destroyed. She was very drama queen about the whole thing, frankly, which is why I had no trouble believing she wasn't real. What exactly is a virtue, other than the normal definition of the word?"
Theo's black-eyed gaze swept over me. I wouldn't be a woman if I didn't notice that it lingered for a shade too long on my breasts. "You really don't know, do you?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't ask. How can someone not be killed just because they're a member of a court?"
He got out of the chair and paced to the end of the room, turning to face us. "This complicates the situation greatly. If you unintentionally summoned Hope, and she was desperate enough to use the escape you offered...but I'm getting ahead of myself. A virtue, my dear mortal, is a member of the Court of Divine Blood."
I sighed and leaned back on the headboard, adjusting a pillow so it supported my aching shoulder. "You're going to say things I don't want to hear, aren't you? You're going to spout all sorts of make-believe stuff in such a way that Sarah will buy it hook, line, and sinker, and I'll spend the entire rest of the trip trying to explain to her why immortal people don't suddenly pop into faery rings."
"I've heard of the Court of Divine Blood," Sarah said slowly, her eyes scrunched up as she hunted through her memory. "It's another name for heaven, isn't it?"
"No," Theo said, much to my relief. Religion was a bit of a touchy subject with me, one I certainly had no intention of discussing with a strange man who quite possibly had mental issues. "The concept of heaven is loosely based on the Court, but the Court of Divine Blood is not dogma for any specific religion. It just is."
"Good gravy, you're not going to tell me that the woman who snuck up behind me and popped out when I wasn't looking is an angel!" I sent Theo a look of utter disbelief.
He looked annoyed in return. "I just told you that the Court is not heaven. There are similarities, but that is all. The members of the Court are not angels, although their jobs are classified in a hierarchy that Christians took for their own. A virtue is a member of the second household, and controls weather."
"The cloud!" Sarah said triumphantly. "I knew it! Proof! Oh my god, that means you..." Her mouth hung open for a second as she looked at me with huge eyes. "...you spoke to an angel! She gave you her job! Good heavens! My best friend is an angel!"
I rolled my eyes. "Theo just said that there are no such things as angels. Use your common sense, Sarah. Some woman pops out of the woods at me, and you're convinced that everything Theo says is gospel...no pun intended. Who's to say the two of them aren't working together? He kidnapped us, after all. This is no doubt some elaborate scheme to get money from us." I thinned my lips at Theo. "And it's not going to work. Get out."
"Portia!"
"Pardon?" Theo asked, frowning.
I stood up slowly, holding my lamp. "I said your little scheme isn't going to work, and I want you out of here. Right now. I've listened to this crap long enough."
"Portia!" Sarah gasped again, looking appalled at my bad manners.
I didn't care. I was sore, tired, and sick of being made a fool. I wasn't going to stand for any more bull from this man and his accomplice.
Theo straightened up and looked as intimidating as he could, but I'd had enough. I didn't care what he did, so long as he did