“I have,” Jorval replied solemnly. “When you explained the family connections, I had a suspicion of where to look.”

Philip gripped the arms of the chair hard enough to snap wood. “Did she sign a contract with a court in Little Terreille?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Jorval said, struggling to put just the right amount of sympathy in his voice. “You must understand, Prince Alexander. We had no way of knowing who she was. A couple of Council members remembered her saying that she was trying to find her sister, but they had assumed the sister had immigrated earlier—and in a sense, that is true. But the Dark Council was never provided with a record of where Jaenelle Angelline came from before the High Lord acquired guardianship over her. There was no reason for them to link the two women, and by the time they began to wonder about the significance of her inquiries, it was too late.”

“What do you mean, ‘too late’?” Philip snapped.

“She was…persuaded…to sign a contract with the Warlord Prince of Ebon Rih—and he is Lucivar Yaslana.”

Satisfaction warmed Jorval as he watched Philip’s face pale. “I see you’ve heard of him. So you can appreciate the danger your niece is in. And it’s not just Yaslana, although he’s bad enough.” He paused, giving Philip time to swallow the hook as well as the bait.

“She’s trapped with all three of them, isn’t she? She’s trapped with Yaslana, Sadi, and the High Lord—just like Jaenelle.”

“Yes.” Jorval sighed. “To the best of our knowledge, Yaslana took her to SaDiablo Hall in Dhemlan. How long she’ll remain there…” He spread his hands in a helpless gesture. “You may have some chance of slipping her away from the Hall, but once he takes her into the mountains that ring Ebon Rih, it’s unlikely you’ll ever get her back—at least while there’s enough left of her to be worth the risk.”

Philip sagged in the chair.

Jorval just waited. Finally, he said, “There is nothing the Dark Council can do officially to help you at this time. However, unofficially, we will do everything in our power to restore Jaenelle Angelline and Wilhelmina Benedict to their rightful family.”

Philip got to his feet like a man who had taken a savage beating. “Thank you, Lord Jorval. I will convey this information to my Queen.”

“May the Darkness guide and protect you, Prince Alexander.”