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He lunged at her, groping for the rabbed a shoulder and pushed him back to the sofa

"Let her try," Lucan muttered "She can’t be any worse than you"

Brahed and slammed back into the sofa, arms crossed over his chest "Fine, then"

He wore petulant sorely, but Sabelle couldn’t spare another moment to think about that

"Hello, Kele, fraray hair and thick sideburns

"Sabelle, dear Lovely as always What’s gotten into your brother?"

"Bad s if he fails to iirl"

"Thank you I think he was trying, somewhat indelicately, to ask if you had received any assurances from Mathias that he was not behind the violence or had heard any plans froickind Bram has been somewhat out of pocket, you see"

"Of course, of course" The he shook his head "Not exactly But Mathias has advised us of potential unrest a the Deprived They are at their wit’s end with the Social order He warns of potential civil war if they are not … accommodated"

In other words, Mathias issued a veiled threat that he would bring the brunt of the Deprived anger down on the Council if they did not nominate and elect hiht that placating Mathias noould spare difficulty later Fools

Sabelle pasted on a s But can Mathias honestly state that he can quell any Deprived unrest if the Social order is changed or repealed? I simply wonder--"

"He is their champion, my dear," Kelmscott reminded

To her side, Ice snorted and shook his head

"Well, he claims to be, yes But he is not one of them, so how can he knoho the Deprived will truly follohat they want?"

"I don’t think we can afford, at this point, to si If he is deceiving us all and is behind the recent attacks, perhaps keeping him close and controlled would put a stop to all this nonsense"

A bold, if not stupid, state her teeth Spencer and Blackbourne, two peas in a pod, had both deter Mathias an inch would please him Neither saw that he would, in fact, take a mile

"Would another candidate, perhaps, sway you? I wonder if, in trying tiht be best to consolidate our power and deal with Deprived unrest in a rational, well-planned ests truly going to end it?"

Spencer frowned "Who are you recoirl?"

"Lucan MacTavish would sit well in that seat--"

"No," Spencer barked back immediately "Blackbourne and I discussed this, knew Bra and his nephew … The fa has his own heirs The seat should never pass down through Lucan"

"Perhaps not But two MacTavish wizards on the sa on future issues"

Translation: the loss of power likely to result if the MacTavishthey would avoid at all costs Shortsighted idiots

"I see on your face that you’re disappointed, Sabelle," Spencer said "But I am quite set and speak for Blackbourne as well The Council needs a change, and Lucan MacTavish would bring only e they wanted, then? A smile curled the corners of her mouth, and she looked across the roo, Branation, and Ice with a burgeoning grasp of the situation

"A change Excellent notion If we’re fearful of a Deprived uprising, which I coress isn’t to elect a Privileged who claims to represent one of them Perhaps it would be better to actually noray brows for a V over his pro would say change and progress to the Deprived more than that, and Mathias would have to champion that candidate if he truly favors their emancipation"

"Eh … Perhaps We could discuss it I’ll talk to Black-bourne We lanced across the rooed up frorurowled After they subdued him, Ice looked at her once more and shook his head

But she could see the hope on his face

"I actually have sorandfather sat on the Council before the Social order stripped hi, whose wishes to preserve ickind and peace are pure Someone not terribly close to ued, and hope curled inside Sabelle again "I would be very interested"

"Hoould you feel about Isdernus Rykard?"