“Rumm’s death was an accident,” she said at last, exhausted. “Morgan never meant to murder him.”

“For pity’s sake, Barl!” Letting go of her, Remmie leapt up. “The incant is murder. And don’t you dare pretend he didn’t know it!”

“I don’t know what Morgan knew,” she said, hands in her lap now, twisting her fine silk tunic. “He was exhausted. He wasn’t himself. I’m telling you, Remmie, he’s not evil. Could I love an evil man? Do you believe that of me?”

Staring at her, he shook his head. “Barl, I don’t know what to believe. Before I saw what I saw at the estate, I’d have said no without hesitation. But now? Now if you told me the incant had been your idea, I—”

“No, no, no,” she said, her eyes wide. “Don’t say it. Don’t.” She sobbed, once. “Remmie, please. It was never meant to be like this. All the good we meant to do and it’s all gone so wrong. I never—”

“You never thought,” he said, brutal. “You just rushed ahead, blindly, because you felt slighted and wanted to prove the Council wrong. Just like you wanted to prove Arndel wrong before that. You haven’t changed, Barl. You just stumbled across someone stupid enough to encourage you. You call it love? I call it madness. You found the one man who could be trusted to bring out the worst in you. Not the best.”

Hands sheltering her face, she fought a silent battle. When at last she lowered them he saw that her eyes were dry.

“When this is over, Remmie, if you want to disown me, I won’t argue. But for this to be over, I will need your help.”

“And what is it you expect me to do?” He folded his arms. “I won’t kill him for you.”

“I don’t want you to,” she said, shocked. “Remmie, I don’t want Morgan dead. Like it or not, I do love him. He needs help.”

“He needs stopping, Barl. That’s all the help he’ll get from me.”

“Fine. Then help me stop him, please, and afterwards we can go our separate ways.”

She sounded so defeated it hurt. And though he’d wanted her defeated, wanted her humbled, made painfully aware of every bad choice she’d made, every flaw…

She’s my sister. I can’t destroy her.

Looking at him, knowing what he’d decided, knowing him, she tried to smile. “You’ll need to get dressed. There’s someone we have to see… and then we need to talk to the Council.”

“There’s no point in that. I tried, the day I saw you. The Council turned me away.”

She blinked at him. “You went to the Council? Knowing what they did to me before?”