IVI may exist in its own bubble, but we are still a part of the outside world. We have to be. And I can imagine how news of a secret society would make headlines, outing members as both truth and fiction are fed to hungry consumers ready to cast stones.

The councilors converse quietly, Hildebrand with his hand over the microphone so I can’t hear. Montrose, the eldest of the three and the one Hildebrand would have me replace, shakes his head. He is also the gentlest of the three. As far as they can be gentle. I think Hildebrand would have preferred Carlisle to sit in Montrose’s seat, but as the terms of the councilors are lifetime, he could not be removed.

“Alright.” Hildebrand removes his hand, drawing my attention as he clears his throat. “As a formality, I must ask you to state your understanding of the Vicarius clause, Mr. Montgomery.” I am Mr. Montgomery in here. Not Judge Montgomery. As Hildebrand said a few nights ago, we are all equals before The Tribunal.

“In invoking the Vicarius clause, one makes the pledge to stand in the place of the party charged with wrongdoing and accepts the consequences on their behalf.”

He nods.

“And you are willing to stand in the place of Mercedes De La Rosa and take her punishment?” Montrose asks.

I steel myself. “I am.”

“How can you, not knowing what The Tribunal will demand? Isn’t it foolhardy?” Hildebrand asks, and I know he is disappointed it’s not Mercedes standing where I am now. I don’t know if he has a fondness for punishing those of high rank or just women in general.

“That is not our concern, Councilor,” Montrose says to him. “Once Vicarius is invoked, it cannot be undone. It is our law.”

Yes, I know that too. But I wouldn’t undo it. I will not allow them to lay a hand on her even at the cost of my own flesh.

“Yes, you are right, Councilor,” Hildebrand acknowledges, then turns back to me. “We all know the facts, agreed, Mr. Montgomery?”

“Agreed.”

“The charges are serious, and in invoking Vicarius, you save this court the trouble of a hearing. You admit guilt and submit yourself to the penalty.”

“Correct.”

“Due to Mercedes’s actions, she has opened The Society up to the scrutiny of the outside world. This brother of the courtesan…” He looks down at the papers before him. “Vincent Douglas. He will not simply go away. He wished to witness Ms. De La Rosa’s sentence carried out, but we would not allow that. We punish our own, but we also protect our own. The Tribunal will absorb the cost of his silence.”

“Very generous,” I say.