“I didn’t say it was him either,” I snapped.
“You don’t have to. I saw the way you looked at him.”
His tone was soft, quiet, but I whirled to face him just the same. He nearly slammed into my back, I’d stopped so suddenly.I had my finger drilling into his chest before he could take another step.
“If you breathe a word to anyone about this, I’ll gut you,” I threatened.
“That wasn’t a denial.”
No. It wasn’t.
I just shook my head and turned back around, storming up the stairs to the First Ring in an effort to leave him behind. There was no one on the streets up here. No First Ringers out for a jaunt to the Mitte, no acolytes rushing back and forth between their House and the temple, none of the few skilled servants from the lower levels we allowed up here when needed. Each House was on lock down as members of all three families came to terms with the events of the morning and plotted a way forward. Luca turned toward Lynx as I crossed to return to Avus.
“Stay calm, Olympia,” he warned as I started to walk off. “Cooler heads need to prevail this time.”
“Do they?” I asked, gritting my teeth.
Luca held my gaze for a moment longer before turning and striding off toward his House.
I followed the path to mine, doing my best to mentally prepare for whatever I would encounter inside.
It was as chaotic as I expected. Voices all shouted to be heard over each other as aunts and uncles cried out to Nascha questions about what was going to happen, how we would respond, if there was to be a war. More called out to Milo about the status of our alliance with Lynx, if the newness of such a thing would hold amidst this pressure and, uncomfortably, if he was even married at all since the consummation hadn’t yet occurred. My cousin bore it all with a raised chin and flushed cheeks. My grandmother let the clamor die down before raising her hands for silence. As murmurs turned to whispers, her serene expression remained still.
“Cosmo of House Viper has brought violence to one of our most holy ceremonies, disrupted the ancestral rites of matrimony, and taken the life of a young boy whose mother now mourns two sons gone from her arms,” Nascha announced in a tone that was stiff and intolerant. Her facade of serenity was cracking, I realized. The anger was seeping through. If the silence in the room was any indication, I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed. “As a member of the Tribunal, I can promise you one thing. He will be held responsible.”
“You seek to hold a trial for the patriarch of a major House?” Uncle Elias gasped from the center of the room. “Has such a thing ever been done?”
I rolled my eyes. You would think the family historian would know the answer to that question better than anyone.
“There is one example we’re aware of in which a matriarch of a major House was tried for poisoning a member of her own family hundreds of years ago,” Nascha announced. “Your Heir remembered the tale and the legal precedent it set. In the event that a member of the Tribunal is to be tried for high crimes or treason, the remaining members of the Tribunal will be joined by the five leaders of the minor houses to form a council of seven which will hear the accusation and defense before determining fault.”
“Why do we have to have a trial?” another uncle shouted from the back. “There are countless witnesses who saw him behead the boy.”
“Cosmo will argue the force was necessary to keep the peace,” Milo answered, stepping forward to our grandmother’s side. “He might try any manner of excuse. That the Culled’s refusal to go and serve the Geist would invoke their rage and poison all of Sanctuary, that it is his duty to see the Geist’s will followed and obeyed as specified in our very foundation, that the boy was a heretic or posed some danger himself. If we do not allow himthe opportunity to defend himself, we are no better than he is, lobbing off heads as we see fit. That is not justice. That is not who we are.”
A cry of outrage shot up around the room. Milo and Nascha exchanged a glance and my cousin frowned. It was understandable that they were upset. A fifteen-year-old boy had been beheaded this morning. The natural response was to be furious, to want revenge, but now was not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves about what to do about it.
“Hey,” I shouted but no one heard me.
I glanced at the table beside me in the foyer and reached for the vase atop it. Then I climbed up on top of the table and threw the vase down as hard as I could. The sound of shattering ceramics filled the space and everyone stopped shouting to look at me.
“Those two are our leaders,” I snapped at them, pointing toward where Nascha and Milo stood. “And our family. They’re in charge. They say there needs to be a trial so shut the fuck up and let them have one. If he gets convicted, they’ll take care of it. If he doesn’t, I will.”
The silence stretched as the members of my family looked around at one another. Milo frowned and Nascha sighed but my words had the desired effect of placating the masses. Besides, I’d meant them. Let the Tribunal do their thing. It didn’t matter. Cosmo would pay for what he did whether it was through legal means or not. I only had to take one look at the mass of simmering rage that was the members of House Avus to know that.
We’re coming your way,Luca’s voice intoned in my mind.
My eyes shot to Milo whose brows were furrowed. I wondered if he’d received a similar message from Isla as the doors behind us opened and half a dozen members of House Lynx, still in their burgundy finery, marched in. Raghnall led them, of course, withLuca and Isla on either side. Cora was noticeably absent but two of Raghnall’s sons and another of his granddaughters entered behind them. I met Luca’s gaze and matched his frown.
Things seem to be going about as well here as they are at home,he noted, eyes scanning the room before looking me up and down.Why are you on a table?
They wouldn’t shut the hell up so I could speak.
His lips quirked into a smile as he strode through the shattered pottery and reached out a hand. I took it, allowing him to help me down. The members of House Avus watched the exchange as Milo strode past us to face Raghnall, Nascha not far behind. I dusted myself off as I hit the ground and glanced up just in time to see Isla frowning at the blood staining my cousin’s wedding suit.
“Milo,” Raghnall greeted in a low rumble. “Nascha.”
“Raghnall,” my grandmother said as she reached his side. “We’ve much to discuss, I imagine.”
