so I hung up my wand and went into fostering full time.”
“Your service to our community has been much appreciated,” Riviera said to her, then faced Cooper and me. “I was convinced that if the news of Lake’s madness became public, the secessionists would have turned it into a scandal to paint our whole family as closet necromancers.”
Riviera paused. “So I told my son to burn the farmhouse and stay quiet.”
“What would have happened if the Circle had voted to secede?” I asked.
“We would have gone to war with the Virtus Regnum,” she replied. “And we would have lost. Badly. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of people would have died. I had visions of entire families being wiped out.”
“What happens now?” I asked. “Is Pal or Mother Karen or the Warlock in trouble for helping me? Am I going to jail?”
“There are certainly a variety of local criminal charges that could be brought to bear,” Riviera replied. “But, having reviewed my nephew’s memories, it’s clear he abused his power in appalling ways. He evidently commissioned some kind of third-party psychological profile on you that convinced him that you would fold under pressure, and the more you didn’t do what he expected you to, the more he tried to force you … Well, he’s as much to blame for what happened as anyone, I think.
“So, right now I’m not inclined to press any charges against any of you, provided y’all continue to work with me and the Circle in a good-faith effort to remedy the damage that’s been done. And, Jessie, seeing as you didn’t respond in anger against our hosts’ provocations on the silver path, I do have faith that we can work together.”
I frowned. Had she set Golden-Hair on us—on me—as some kind of a test?
Riviera must have read the change in my expression. “I didn’t ask our hosts to harass you, but I’ve been to Faery many times before and I know how they treat newcomers,” she said. “And I had to know that you’re able to rise above that kind of provocation when the situation calls for restraint rather than going in spells ablaze.”
“But if I’d screwed up, we all might have been enslaved here,” I protested. “And what would have become of the kids back at Mother Karen’s house? You risked their safety just to see if I could ignore a Faery’s ‘yo mama’? Really?”
Riviera held up her hands. “My people have been watching the house; the children were never in any danger. We have foster parents lined up to take care of all of them in an emergency, and I was prepared to negotiate for your release if it came to that.”
“But no guarantees that you’d succeed, right?” I replied.
“And who were you planning to hand my baby brothers over to?” Cooper asked sharply. “They’re more than just a handful; they’ve got full-blown magical powers.”
I leaned forward toward Riviera. “I’m pretty sure ol’ Benny would have locked them up like they were all just a bunch of demons; how were you planning to do right by those kids?”
“That’s the most important thing we have to talk about here today,” she replied, nodding vigorously. “Obviously it’s crucial that the Marron brothers be placed in loving, supportive homes where they can safely learn to control their powers. It’s equally important that they get as much psychological care as they need to overcome any evil tendencies they may have picked up in the hell—”
“I don’t want them dosed with magebane,” Cooper said, his voice carrying a threat that made even me nervous. “They’re way too young; it could hurt their brain development.”
“It wouldn’t be my first choice, either,” Riviera replied gently, “but I can’t guarantee that wouldn’t happen.”
“If my brothers get hurt—”
“The safety of the foster families has to come first, you know that,” Riviera replied, her voice rising to match his. “I think we can both agree that blunting the boys’ powers would be better than locking them away should they become violent.”
“No.” Cooper’s face was red, his hands clenched against the edge of the table. I hadn’t seen that kind of sudden fury in him in a long time, not since his days of waking from bad nightmares to go drinking and looking for fights in dive bars.
“I won’t let them near anyone who would even think of giving them that poisonous shit.” He rose from his chair, scowling at Riviera. “I won’t see my brothers turned into obedient little half-mundane zombies just for some country-club Talent’s convenience!