Wicked Bite (Night Rebel #2)(8)

“Such as remembering the ceremony?” Ian interjected.

My gaze swung to Ian as if he’d yanked on it. Gods, his eyes, staring into mine with an intensity that belied the carefree yet cocky slant to his mouth. Yes, there was recognition in them. Somehow, Ian remembered me, and not just as the coldhearted bitch he’d thought I was before we’d partnered up to take down Dagon months ago!

I was about to fling myself into his arms when I realized how much was missing. Ian might know me more than he had before everything had started between us, but not as much as the last time we’d been together. I’d never forget the way he’d looked at me during what should have been the final moments of his life. Now, everything that had been in his gaze then was gone.

My hope vanished. Nothing had changed. I was still a demon target, and he wasn’t the same Ian who’d died in my arms.

“Your memory is a delusion born of too much Red Dragon combined with an enemy’s spell,” I said, dismissing him without another look. “For a short time, I, too, believed that I’d bound myself to him in marriage while under the effects of the same drug and spell,” I continued, returning my attention to the council. “Fortunately, that belief proved to be false.”

“Bollocks,” Ian said silkily.

I didn’t swing around to look at him again, but it was close. What in the seven hells was he doing? I was handing him his freedom while also giving him a plausible excuse for his reckless lawsuit. All he had to do was shut up and take it!

“We were under the effects of a spell,” I repeated, my tone sharpening. “One that was cast on us as we finished dispatching the last of the Red Dragon dealers in New York several weeks ago. That’s why we believed ourselves to be married, and why we repeated that mistaken belief to Xun Guan and her trainees.”

“Then why was I with you in the first place?” Ian asked in that damnably caressing tone.

My teeth ground before I forced my jaw to relax. “You took me to inform me of a possible Red Dragon dealer. By the time I confirmed your suspicions, we were attacked, necessitating you to act as my backup despite you being a civilian.”

“I arrived too late to assist,” Xun Guan interjected. “When I came upon Veritas and this civilian, she had already killed the Red Dragon dealer and the source, as well as several of the dealer’s associates.”

“But not after being forced to drink large quantities of Red Dragon in order to get to them,” I added. “That, combined with the spell I later found out had been cast on us, resulted in our compromised mental states and false memory of being married. Due to my advanced strength and age, my memory of the true events returned over the next several days. His memories,” I shrugged as if unconcerned, “clearly still have not.”

“Ian,” Mencheres said. “Perhaps you should consider this clarified version of events?”

Ian ignored his sire. “A question for you, honorable judges.” His tone was carefree, but I caught the edge that said he was deadly serious. “Is there any precedent of a vampire marriage being annulled if both parties were intoxicated or under other mind-altering influence when they made their vows?”

“There has never been an accepted annulment process for a vampire marriage,” Haldam replied, which was true despite it being infuriatingly archaic and unfair.

“We don’t need to concern ourselves with that because we’re not married,” I all but growled.

He flashed me a grin that didn’t fool me. His turquoise-colored gaze was sharklike. “You have another definition for when two vampires cut their palms and claim each other in front of witnesses, one of whom is glaring at my back even now?”

“How do you remember that?” I burst out, noticing that Xun Guan was indeed glaring at Ian.

“More pertinent is whether he speaks the truth,” Haldam said, to sounds of agreement from the rest of the council.

I went with the only response I could. “As I said, we were both extremely intoxicated plus reeling from the effects of a spell. It’s no surprise that our memories differ.”

Ian’s hand swept toward Xun Guan. “She wasn’t drunk or spelled. Ask her if we bound ourselves together that night.”

How do you remember that? I screamed silently this time. He couldn’t remember everything. If he did, he wouldn’t be trying to prove a marriage he’d wanted no part of when it had happened.

Haldam waved Xun Guan forward. She came, reluctance rounding out the straight lines of her posture. Please, I tried to convey during the brief glance we exchanged. Please don’t confirm what he just said!

“Xun Guan.” Haldam’s commanding voice filled the amphitheater. “Did you witness a binding marriage ceremony between Veritas and this vampire? Or did you not?”

Xun Guan straightened to her usual, regal posture. My hopes plummeted. I might have gotten her to agree to “forget” what she’d seen as far as keeping silent in the face of my denials, but lying to the council? She wouldn’t, not even if she believed I’d made a terrible mistake while very drunk and spelled, which is what I’d told her. Xun Guan loved me, but she loved the law more. She always had. It’s why I’d never been able to share my secrets with her.

“Yes,” Xun Guan said in strong, if strained, voice. “Yes, I did witness that, honorable judges.”