“Proceed,” the spider says.
Apollo squares his shoulders and stands a little straighter. “Centuries span the time from when I’d last seen Rhazan. Where once there was fear and distrust in his heart, I now see compassion, and strength. His magic and his very life depend on pain, but he’s discovered safe, consensual ways to feed himself. Despite his history, I’m proud of everything he’s accomplished for his future.
“And I know he is mournful of his past actions. We’ve spent many long nights discussing what he’s been through, and how every perpetration took a piece of him away. He’s been fighting ever since to earn those pieces back. I believe in him, and I hope you can, too.”
The brothers share a fond look, and my heart squeezes in my chest.
“Thank you,” Klepkurt says, dismissing Apollo.
He reappears next to us, and nerves bounce in my gut. I want to go down there. I want to support him, too, but I’ve only known him for a short time. Would my testimony matter?
“Is there anyone else to speak on Mr. Malakar’s behalf?” Klepkurt asks.
My heart pounds in my chest and my pulse thrums in my fingers gripping the railing.
Go.
Go to him.
Go for him.
“If there’s no one else—”
I tap therailing like Apollo did and materialize in a beam of light beside Rhazan. Klepkurt startles at the sight of me, and me him. He’s much larger from this angle, and holy shit is he intimidating.
“You are?” Klepkurt asks, little finger-like appendages wiggling in front of his mouth as he speaks.
“I’m…” I clear my throat. “I’m Feng Jiahui, the defendant’s…mate.”
Murmurs bubble up around the arena. Klepkurt leans forward, and if I had a need to pee right now, I most certainly would.
“Mr. Malakar, is this true?”
“It is. She is the only one in all the worlds of all the realms destined to fill the void in my soul,” he says without a single trip up or tongue-tie like me. So much confidence and assuredness.
He looks at me, his face relaxed in peaceful serenity. I breathe in that calm and take some for myself, tamping down on the jitters in my belly.
“Proceed, Ms. Feng,” Klepkurt says.
I look up at the lowest row of the audience, people who had spoken on behalf of other defendants, family members, or other people involved in the proceedings. I’m not sure how this all works, and if I’m appealing to all of them, or just Klepkurt, but it feels wrong not to at least show them I see them.
Just like I see Rhazan.
I turn my attention back to him. While my testimony might be for them, my words are for my mate. My love.
“I know how it feels to hurt people and not want to. I know how it feels to be a sieve, unable to hold any real emotion for yourself that isn’t fear or anger. I know how it feels when those are the only two emotions that have kept you alive.
“With you, I don’t have to be afraid anymore,” I whisper, my heart battering my ribs like a caged animal. “With you, I’ve found real strength. With you, I can be at peace.”
His eyes burn brighter, and the urge to go to him, to touch him, overwhelms me. I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t stop myself from stepping off the platform. He reaches out and I leap into his embrace.
Voices rise all around the room, but I don’t care, and neither does he. He squeezes me against his chest and I drink him in, the cinnamon earthy scent surrounding me. It feels like we haven’t seen each other in years, not days, and I’m desperate for more of him.
“Order, please,” Klepkurt says as the chime dings around the room twice.
Rhazan releases me and I wobble back to my position in the arena on noodly legs.
“I’m sorry, I was overwhelmed,” I say.
