“Great.” Aware that Iannis didn’t want to talk about the subject further, I switched topics. “So, have you made any more headway regarding the Resistance prisoners?”

Iannis nodded. “A number of them have been sent to the mines already to carry out their sentences, or back to prison until the date of their execution. There are more yet who are still awaiting trial, including your cousin Rylan.”

“Right.” My mood darkened at the thought of Rylan Baine, my aunt Mafiela’s youngest son, and a high-ranking officer in the Resistance. He and I had been close once, but after his betrayal, I wanted nothing to do with him.

“I thought to consult with you before tackling his case, but it seems as though you do not wish to discuss the subject,” Iannis noted, stroking my cheek with his thumb. “Did something happen?”

“You can give him whatever sentence you want,” I bit out. “He’s a traitor, not just to our country, but to me as well.”

Concern darkened Iannis’s eyes. “What do you mean? Has your cousin done something else that I don’t know of?”

I let out a slow breath. “He hired a witch to put a spell on me so that I would forget to warn you about the Resistance’s plans to ambush you.” Hot anger surged in my chest just thinking about it. All those times I’d gone to Iannis, intending to warn him not to get on the dirigible, or to hire extra security, or whatever it took to keep him safe. Whomever Rylan had hired to put the spell on me had been damn good, because looking back on it, I still couldn’t tell that I’d been spelled. Every time I’d tried to warn Iannis, something had always come up to derail the conversation, and by the time it was over, I’d completely forgotten to tell him. If Rylan hadn’t admitted the truth to me, I would still have trouble believing it had happened.

But it had. And Iannis had almost been killed as a result.

“I see,” Iannis said slowly, but he didn’t seem nearly as angry as I’d anticipated. “So Rylan prevented you from warning me, because doing so would have put your life in danger?”

“Yes, but he doesn’t get to make that call. He doesn’t get to decide whether or not I’m allowed to protect you.”

“Indeed.”

I narrowed my eyes at Iannis. “You’re not seriously agreeing with Rylan’s actions, are you?”

“No, but I also can’t fault him for trying to protect you the best way he knew how.”

I huffed. “Men. You’re all the same when it comes to women. You’d rather hide us in the closet and keep us away from the action, even if we have skills and abilities that would be useful.”