Grand Reopening [Baccarrat Mansion]

[Helena]

Helena didn’t blink at the first words out of his mouth. In fact she barely thought of the child that had existed inside her back then, or how she had callously had it removed after Cillian’s death. His family had never forgiven her for that transgression – a child who might have been born a god. A term she detested, but it was what they called it. Before now it had never occurred to her that there had been any self-survival in the act. But Eliot’s implication was that this shadowy organisation, this Atharim, eradicated bloodlines and not just the channeler. Fate had intervened. It appeared she should have died alongside her first husband.

“You believe it is hereditary,” she said. There was no inflection to the statement. The Di Inferi believed the same, or hoped for it. Her own father’s efforts had borne little fruit, beyond the success of her, and that was something Helena kept private. Her brother was ungifted, as were the halfbreeds kept hidden at Rivington Folly. But this knowledge factored into her proposal to the Baccarat heir. Between them they might create exactly what the Di Inferi were looking for, and while Helena had no motherly inclination, she understood that the Asquiths would be more useful onside now that she had embarked on this endeavour. A beneficial reparation. She thought nothing of using a child in such a way, or of seeking forgiveness now it suited her.

This marriage would be one of mutual convenience.

“I am not interested in second best. Only the power behind this reform, and that is you. We are talking about dynasty, a legacy. One that will outlive us. You are capable of the act, and of siring, I assume?” She did not look up from the specific files he had handed to her. She was talking about something non-negotiable, and her words were utterly and unapologetically blunt, but the force of her attention was on the quandary before them. For Asquiths marriage was the most expeditious way to forge a connection, as he put it, of legality and consequence. It would make betrayal less likely. Nor could he easily set her aside, for their survival would become codependent. But in their alliance Helena would be ironclad, for as long as their goals aligned. She proved it now with her open deliberation and focus.

“You do not like Durante. Yet you tell me he has accomplished impossible feats, and has a connection with the Ascendancy that might strengthen our legitimacy with the Custody. He may be uncouth to those of our own ilk, but you cannot rule him out. If not the face, he may prove integral to rallying the lower sort. There is a charm in a man of the people. And while your Atharim might not follow him, it is not only your people we must consider, but those other channelers out there. To them, he will be a hero.

“Dorian Vega, too, offers a useful credential as part of the police force. But he is not a channeler, despite his fathering one. That is not good enough for what we need. But we will certainly need him on our side. And he shall be easy enough to convince if he wishes to protect his son.

“Li Tan … if he has no marked prowess as a hunter, will he be seen as weak? This traitor needs to be one that is respected. Yet perhaps he can earn it, with our help and guidance. He will certainly be more pliable than Durante, I would imagine.

“We must consider them all, I think, and continue to search for more options. If your ways are so ingrained then we must accept that the old guard will not be swayed no matter who you chose for your puppet. Yet if they will not bend to us, we must seek to drown them out. Perhaps we must cultivate all those of interest, and see who rises to the top.”