“Lord Phel,” Asa said gently, “you could also benefit from another day of rest or two. Let Iliana recover. Give yourself time to get back up to full health, and then go to Convocation Center to argue to have Lady Phel returned to you. She is in good hands there. They’re not going to harm a familiar of her power, especially not when she’s carrying a child that will possibly exceed you both in ability.”

Gabriel dropped his hands and stared at Asa, realizing he’d forgotten to relate what they’d discovered. “Nic isn’t at Convocation Center. She’s been taken to House Sammael.”

Asa looked confused. “House Sammael? But why would they take her there? Sammael has no claim on Lady Phel, unless…” He trailed off in dawning realization.

“Unless they believe I’m on the brink of death and Sergio Sammael wants to be poised to bond her as soon as my death dissolves our bond,” Gabriel finished. “And in the meanwhile, who knows how he’s tormenting her to break her spirit and enforce her eventual submission.”

“I…” Asa rubbed a hand over his scalp. “It sounds so over the top, even for a Convocation power play. Sammael took Lady Phel into custody in the Convocation’s name. Keeping her prisoner at House Sammael is a declaration of war against both the house of her birth and the house of her bonding.”

“War against Elal and Phel?” Jadren asked derisively from the nearby bed. He wasn’t injured. He’d simply sprawled out lazily, hands propped behind his head, as he listened to the argument. “The first has made it clear that Nic has been disowned. The second…” He raised his brows at Gabriel.

“They believe me defanged and our house status soon to be revoked. Why would they be concerned?” Gabriel reflected bitterly.

“Something else to consider,” Alise, who’d been standing by quietly, inserted, “is that my father could be working with Sammael in some way.” She shrugged philosophically at Asa’s and Jadren’s startled expressions and repeated what she’d told Gabriel.

They were all silent, contemplating the ramifications of that.

“House Elal allying with House Sammael to plunder House Phel upon your demise is something my mother would be very interested to hear about,” Jadren finally said. Everyone looked at him, waiting. “What? It’s not as if you all don’t know I’m a spy.”

“Yes,” Alise drawled, “but one would expect you to be more circumspect about it.”

He shrugged that off. “That sounds like a great deal of trouble, especially for someone my mother is forever lamenting lacks proper initiative.”

“Do you plan to tell Lady El-Adrel of this development?” Gabriel asked. He felt he should ask, that he needed to know, in case House El-Adrel joined the vultures planning to feast on his house’s corpse, and his own. He doubted they much cared whether he or House Phel was actually dead yet. Scavengers were just as comfortable devouring the fatally disabled.

“Well, I do have to tell her some things.” Jadren gazed at the ceiling, then his eyes cut to them. “Else she’d use her leverage on me, and I don’t want that.”