"More like 'better for his ego if he has a convenient excuse to not come after us,' than anything else," Lydia said. "Coming for us in the Blackwood would be bloody and dangerous enough to maybe make people start questioning whether he's really all-powerful."

She looked like she was about to spit on the floor but a sharp look from Adrian had her rolling her eyes and subsiding.

"As long as we stay useful, he has an excuse to not come for us. If we take away that excuse, then we sign our own death certificates."