Blaming hormones for the tears that flooded her eyes, Reine hid them behind a pair of oversized sunglasses. The ruse worked; the girls didn't see her disappointment.
Morgan was in her usual, talkative mood, and during the short drive into the city, she decided to give Noor a travel lesson. "Bruges is the oldest surviving medieval city in the world, so you're going to feel like you're in a Grimm fairy tale. But the evil witch isn't what you need to avoid today," she said, her green eyes sparkling with mischief.
"No, darling, your enemy today will be all of the kilos you'll pack on while eating your way through the afternoon. Belgian waffles were invented here, and you can get them topped with pretty much anything that'll go directly to your hips." She laughed, playfully slapping her midsection. "Add that to the chocolate stands and ice cream shops on every corner, and . . . well, let's just say this is not the place to start your diet! Oh, and those swans floating on the canals may look all cute and cuddly, but they're evil little buggers that'll peck your eyes out if ya get too close."
Noor smiled. "You know the city well?" she asked.
"Well enough, I suppose." Morgan nodded. "Our Council has been meeting here since the inception of the Confraternity of the Resurrection."
Although she'd been blankly staring out the limousine's window at the passing landscape, the mention of the brotherhood piqued Reine's interest.
"Tell me about the Council. What should I expect tonight?" She sat up in her seat, and turned toward the young woman.
"The members rotate and are drawn by lottery every quarter. There are ten of them, and they meet once a month to preside over the gravest offenders among our kind. They hear witnesses, deliberate, and then hand down punishments as necessary," Morgan said.
The explanation reminded Reine of a tousled haired young man defiantly standing in a ballroom surrounded by strangers. "Is that what was going on at Max's that first morning I was there? Did he put Gabe on trial?"
Morgan shifted in her seat and tucked a strand of curly, red hair behind her ear. "Technically no, I wouldn't say that. He . . . uhm . . . we can't preside over mortals."
Reine reached across and grabbed her hands, forcing the girl to look at her. "What was that all about then? I know that's when he kicked him out. Tell me the truth, Morgan."
"Max was just being Max, I guess. Since we were all there--"
"So he made a mockery of him!" Reine exclaimed as her blood pressure rose at the realization.
Morgan's eyelids fluttered over her emerald green eyes. "No. No! I mean, he could have handled things privately, but nothing he said to Gabe was untrue. He had every right to make him leave for both disobeying his orders to follow you to Venice and then failing to protect you once he was there. Honestly, I'm surprised you guys ever got together after that."
Reine leaned further in, but could barely get the words out. "What do you mean?"
"Max wanted to let the boy keep the Landy, but Gabe initially refused the car. I always felt that if you wanted to read too much in to it, the actual words he used could have meant a lot more," she said.
Reine squeezed the girl's hands to urge her on. "And? What did Gabe say?"
Morgan cleared her throat before continuing. "He said 'I don't want anything that belongs to you'."
Although Morgan's words matched most of what Gabe had later told her, he failed to mention this statement to Reine. Dropping her gaze to the floor, she slowly let go of Morgan's hands and slunk back into her seat.
"It's okay, Rennie. He obviously didn't mean you." Noor put her arm around Reine's shoulder, but the scene outside quickly drew away the girl's attention. "Look, I think we're here. Wow, you were right, Morgan. It's just like what you'd see in a children's book."
Ancient buildings with distinctive red, clay roof tiles emerged in front of them. While some were pristine white, others dazzled in the summer sun in various shades of yellow, blue, or pink. After the driver dropped the young women off in the city center, they joined the throng of tourists crowding the narrow streets.
A shiver ran up Reine's spine as she got emotional from the historic atmosphere. "It's wonderful that this ancient city is still around. It gives the Council a perfect setting to hold its meetings."
Morgan was less impressed. "You've got your causality backwards, love. Why do ya think this place has been virtually unchanged for over five hundred years?" She winked.
Lunching at a bistro by the water, Reine couldn't resist ordering double servings of the pommes frites drenched with andalouse sauce, even after Noor's upturned nose and 'how can you eat fries with mayonnaise?' comments. Contrary to Morgan's previous warnings, they also stopped for both local chocolate and ice cream during their long afternoon of shopping and sightseeing.
Reine devoured her triple scoop, hand-made sorbet before it had a chance to melt in the hot summer sun, but even then she couldn't get Sylvana out of her mind. Luckily, Morgan tried her best to ease her fears.
"She'll deny everything, for sure. But don't ya worry. Mal's here to testify about everything he knows. I'm prepared to speak against her, too if it's needed."
Reine wiped the corner of her mouth with her thumb. "And then what? What will happen to her when she's found guilty?"
"For going against one of our own?" Morgan bit her lip. "I suppose they'd force her to relinquish her immortality for a period of time. There's nothing better to make you realize how precious life is than to have that safety net taken away."
"They can do that?" Reine's eyes widened. "How? With gin?"
Morgan nodded.
"And if she doesn't comply?"
"Everyone complies with the Council's verdict, darling," Morgan finished as they emerged in a cobblestone covered square to the sound of bells.
"City Hall?" Reine asked as she looked up at the imposing three-story structure. The carved embellishments around the windows on its stone facade resembled lace or the frosting on a wedding cake, while its multiple spires gave it a castle-like look.
Morgan treated the question as rhetorical and led the trio through the lobby toward an almost hidden stairwell. The uniformed guard blocking the entrance must have been familiar with the beautiful redhead, letting them pass with a barely noticeable gesture.
The walls of the wide, curving stairs were also covered with gray limestone. The red, wool carpet muffled their steps, which echoed over the stone floors when they reached the second story.
Four people were gathered next to a large - and ornately carved - double door, and the trio stopped a polite distance away against the opposite wall.
"Who's that?" Reine nodded toward the woman dominating the conversation. While she didn't physically look like the youngest in the group, her dark, pixie haircut and curves in all the right places definitely made her the most attractive.
Morgan looked over her shoulder. "I forget her name. She's Egyptian, from Alexandria I think. Very well respected, so we'll be lucky if she's on the Council. It's pretty likely though, since there won't be many observers due to the meeting being called at the last minute and all."
A gray haired man with a thick, German accent stuck his head out the door. "Last call for anyone who wishes to attend the proceedings."
The few remaining people in the hallway - excluding Noor who as a mortal was forbidden from witnessing the ceremony and had to wait in the hallway - shuffled into the stately room.
Historical murals lined the high walls of the Gothic hall, while polychrome vaults decorated its ceiling. A stone fireplace - tall enough for a grown man to stand in - stood on one end. A long, wooden table with ten empty chairs was placed in front of it, while several rows of guest chairs were arranged opposite. Most of the eighty or so seats were already filled, but two in the front were saved for them.
"Where's Max?" Reine whispered, taking a seat next to Mal, but the young man just shook his head.
"Fate is with us," Morgan said as she nudged her from the other side, pointing with her chin toward the head table. "Not only is Miss What's-her-name on the Council, but it looks like she's chairing it."
Reine watched as the woman she'd just asked about took her place in the central spot. With its high back and various embellishments, the chair actually looked more like a throne. Adding to the illusion was the heavy cape she wore. It was the same crimson accessory Dodger had worn at breakfast that first morning at Max's, down to the ermine collar and golden stars of the Gonfaloniere of Justice.
The Chairwoman looked to her right and then to her left to confirm the other nine members - wearing similar cloaks save for the golden stars - were also in their seats. The audience, which had already been quite subdued, suddenly fell completely silent.
"Good evening everyone. Thank you for coming," the woman said in flawless English, her voice deep and soothing. For some reason, this timeless beauty reminded Reine of the famous bust of Nefertiti located in Berlin. "I believe I know most of you, but for those who I've yet to meet personally, my name is Beryl El-Rah and I'll do my best to keep this trial fair and just. We'll get to the point straight away, so I'd like to ask that the defendant be presented."
A small door in the back of the room creaked open and a tall, lanky woman in head-to-toe black emerged. She walked confidently up the aisle between the chairs before finally stopping at a podium facing the Council.
El-Rah hadn't been joking about moving things along, and she swiftly addressed Sylvana. "Miss Banica. You have been accused of three separate attempts on Reine Baldwin's life. The first time was in February of this year in Venice, where you allegedly caused grievous bodily harm to Miss Baldwin resulting in her death and consequent resurrection. The second was in March when your actions indirectly led to a motor vehicle accident where Miss Baldwin was a passenger and which ultimately killed a mortal. The third was just three days ago in Chambord, where you near-fatally injured Massimo Baldovini with a knife intended for Miss Baldwin. How do you respond to these allegations?"
Sylvana stifled a yawn. "They're mostly correct."
Reine's breath caught in her lungs. She couldn't believe the admission and scooting to the edge of her seat, waited for me.
"Do you have anything to say in your defense?" the Chairwoman prodded.
"What else do you want me to say?" Sylvana shrugged. "Of course I'm the one who killed her in Venice. Max wouldn't trust anyone else to do it."
The Chairwoman briefly turned to her neighbor and whispered something in his ear. Seeming satisfied with the response, she turned back to Sylvana. "What exactly are you saying Miss Banica?"
"You heard me. It was his idea all along. I just did what Max asked of me."
"You're lying!" Reine burst out, unable to suppress her mounting anxiety.
Sylvana turned around and laughed. "Silly girl. Why would I do that? I have nothing to gain from falsely accusing him. In fact, this admission completely works against me. Revealing his secrets is just going to make Max hate me even more."
Reine was shaking with fury. "Why are you doing it then?"
"Because I love my freedom more than I love Massimo Baldovini," Sylvana said with a smirk.
"I still don't believe you," Reine huffed. "Why would Max want to hurt me?"
"Isn't it obvious?" The woman's dark eyes twinkled with glee at the reaction she was causing. "He needed you to forget your little mortal boy so he could have you all to himself. But you screwed everything up by drinking that gin and ending up somehow getting all of your memories back even though you kept your immortality. You're going to have to tell me how you did that, by the way." Sylvana casually folded her arms across her chest.
"What do you mean?" Reine swallowed, her mouth dry from anxiety. "You didn't you put a spell or a curse on me or something?"
The woman laughed heartily, throwing her head back in the process. "Is that what he told you? Okay. Now you're just being stupid. Just because I'm Romani doesn't mean I go around hexing people. You though . . . you're something else. I have to say that you getting pregnant with Gabriel's baby even surprised me."
A collective gasp filled the room at the revelation. Reine momentarily closed her eyes and willed herself to remain calm. Her secret was out; she couldn't do anything to take it back. Everyone began talking all at once, no doubt discussing the magnitude of the previously unheard of news.
"Silence!" The Chairwoman banged her fist on the desk to restore order to the proceedings. "Let's deal with things in due course, shall we? Now, if what you say is true, Miss Banica, then your malignment of Miss Baldwin was on the instructions of Mr. Baldovini. However, that still does not exonerate you from guilt. Is there anything further that you'd like to add in your defense before we make our final decision?"
"My defense? How about my defense being that one of my accusers isn't here." Sylvana spread her arms, motioning to the crowded room. "Why do you think Mr. Baldovini conveniently skipped out on this trial? You may argue it's because he's ashamed of being the instigator of this plan. Well, then you don't know Max Baldovini. He'd gladly pin all of the blame on me, if he wasn't afraid of one thing."
The pharaonic beauty in the ermine cloak leaned forward in her throne. "And what's that, Miss Banica?"
"That he's a lot more guilty than I'll ever be."
"And how do you figure that?" The Chairwoman wrinkled her brows. "You're the one who got her hands dirty."
"With Reine, yes." Sylvana's large mouth slowly curved upward into a wicked smile. "But Max is the one who actually killed Gabriel Moran. And I'm guessing directly taking a mortal life is worse than what I did, is it not?"