“Nothing can bring down the Cause,” Braden said. “Least of all you.”
“Ah, but you are wrong. You are the only one who cares enough to keep it alive. There will be no more grand Convocations when you are dead.”
“You will not succeed,” Don Alarico said, stepping forward. “I—”
Even lacking the benefit of sight, Braden knew what happened then. The Russian blood was hardy; that was why Grandfather chose to blend it with the Forsters’. Del Fiero retreated and didn’t speak again.
Braden broke the silence. “Do you challenge me, Boroskov?”
“Will you bow to me, Greyburn? If you do, I may spare your life. You are only half a man, after all. I almost pity you.” He sighed. “Yes, if you abase yourself to me and swear allegiance, I may allow your sister to leave Greyburn unmolested. I will end this Convocation without unnecessary violence. But Miss Holt… she will be my prize.”
“Never.”
“Then I challenge you, Lord Greyburn. By the very laws your grandfather established, I claim the right to lead this Convocation. By the most ancient of laws, I claim all that is yours.”
“I accept your challenge. Count Boroskov. By the laws of the Convocation, and in the ancient ways of our people, I will defeat you.” He addressed the others calmly. “There is no reason to delay. We will gather in at the edge of the wood behind Greyburn, in fifteen minutes—”
“Alone,” Boroskov said. “You and me, Greyburn. No one else.”
“We have the right to witness,” the Hungarian delegate said, as his wife had earlier. “You cannot prevent us, Russian.”
Again Boroskov laughed. “Very well. You may all watch Greyburn die at my feet.”
He strode from the room. The others spoke in hushed voices, mingling alarm and relief.
“Quentin,” Braden said, drawing his brother to the side of the room. “See to Rowena and Cassidy. Take them away from Greyburn—as far as you can.”
“The Hungarian was correct,” Quentin said, utterly serious. “The ladies have just as much right to witness the challenge as we do.”
“Rowena will not want that right, and Cassidy won’t know of it.”
“You expect me to leave you now?” Quentin said. “Braden—”
Braden gripped Quentin’s arms and gave him a shake, merciless in his urgency. “Do as I tell you, brother. Keep them away. Whatever happens here, keep them safe.”
Quentin let out a long breath. “And the other women?”
“Let them come.” He turned his back on his brother, trusting that Quentin would obey. Quentin knew the consequences of Braden’s failure; he, too, would want to protect Cassidy and Rowena. And if he were gone, he could not challenge Boroskov himself.
Braden waited until he heard the garden doors close behind Quentin, and faced the guests. “Gentlemen,” he said. “I shall see you in fifteen minutes.”
“If your brother is not to be your second, I offer my services,” Don Alarico said at his shoulder. “It will be my honor.”
“Very well, señor. Thank you.”
Del Fiero left the room. The other delegates followed. Braden stood alone, composing himself for the coming fight.
He found Aynsley just outside the drawing room, smelling of fear. In a few words Braden related what the butler did not already know or guess. Aynsley would make certain that no humans came near the circle of challenge; Braden told him to find Telford and order the valet to wait for his master’s return. When this was over, Telford would hear about his dereliction of duty in guarding Cassidy from Boroskov’s obscene influence.
Fifteen minutes later, Braden walked to the edge of the wood. The scent of violence was already thick in the night air; he identified the Hungarian and German women, as well as all the male guests. Cassidy, Rowena, Quentin, and the Russian woman were absent—and so was Fedor, Stefan’s brother. The hairs lifted on the back of Braden’s neck.
Stefan waited for him in the center of the circle formed by the delegates. Hatred and malice poured from the Russian like noxious gases from a disease-ridden swamp. His power was tangible: raw, corrupt power of the most rabid kind.
Threats were redundant now. Words meant nothing. This was the heart of the werewolf nature, the savage soul that had never been civilized. It understood only action and the will to survive at any cost.