Ziva’s eyes were glassy, and her chin trembled as she glared up at Graydon. Her clothes were disheveled and there was a spot of blood on her cheek but otherwise the child was unharmed.
“He’s lying,” Ziva said again. “Jin was nowhere near the arena when he raised the barrier. He didn’t show up until afterward.”
Terrel fixed a cold gaze on the child. “Yes, well, I had to protect the rest of us from the threat at hand.”
“At the expense of those below?” someone asked in a sharp voice.
Graydon looked over to find Tinsley glaring from the crowd. The heir of Kashori was covered in more blood than Ziva. None of which looked to be her own.
“A handful of deaths versus many more. The choice is obvious,” Terrel drawled.
“You’re still lying,” Ziva screamed, lunging at the Overlord.
Graydon moved quickly, grabbing the child before she could try to stab him with the concealed weapon she held.
He palmed the tiny knife before anyone could see.
“He’s lying. He is.” Ziva’s eyes glistened with tears as she fixed a gaze on him. “I was there. He raised the barrier before those things came out of those people.”
“You cannot believe this traumatized child,” Terrel sneered. “What reason would I have to sacrifice my own initiates?”
“You were angry because you thought she destroyed your ship. You did this to make her pay.”
Terrel’s gaze sharpened. “She is responsible. Her soul bound was obviously working on her behalf.”
Ziva bared her teeth in a snarl. “Prove it.”
Graydon gently tugged her out of the way when Terrel looked like he was thinking of doing her bodily harm.
“The child’s version of events is accurate,” someone from the crowd said.
Graydon looked over to find a high-ranking member of House Asanth standing a few feet away. Though the man had never undertaken the adva ka, he held status and influence among the members of his House. He was one of their most trusted advisors and likely present to provide guidance to those initiates who’d chosen to progress.
“Karl,” Graydon said in greeting before glancing in Baran’s direction for confirmation.
His oshota nodded, looking like he’d tasted something nasty as he glared at Votair’s Overlord. “Their sequence of events is correct. House Votair’s Overlord appears to have acted with foreknowledge of the coming danger.”
Graydon held himself still. Not yet. The accusation wasn’t enough to justify the arrest of a prominent Overlord.
“Moreover, two of the three creatures appear to have come from House Votair,” Baran continued. “The third initiate had had extensive contact with the other two in the time leading up to events.”
A cruel smile appeared on Graydon’s face. There it was. The final piece he needed to make a move.
“I want the Overlord and the rest of House Votair placed under immediate arrest,” Graydon instructed Baran and the rest of his oshota. “All properties will be confiscated while the emperor’s people conduct an investigation into his role in these events.”
Terrel started forward. “You can’t do that. I am the Overlord of a powerful House.”
Graydon rounded on him, letting his desire to end the other man appear on his face. “Did you really think you could cause the deaths of so many and not answer for it?”
Terrel’s look of shock said he had. Something Graydon found appalling.
“You’re done,” Graydon said in a silky voice. “Your House will not survive this. Look around you. The other Houses are already preparing to move in to claim what is yours.”
Terrel’s shoulders stiffened as he became aware of how those from the other Houses were staring at him. Their hostility and desire to make him pay permeating the air.
“Everything you’ve built, everything you sacrificed to make, they’re all gone. It’s only a matter of time.”
The Overlord flinched away from Graydon as Isla and Cord closed in on him from the sides.
