At this point, it wasn’t just a facade. Harrison and I hadn’t seen each other outside of my protection detail since we’d gotten Milo’s permission three days ago. I’d been too busy trying to find time to follow both Milo and Nascha’s orders and Harrison, though he’d never admit it, had been too consumed with anxiety regarding his impending role at Cosmo’s trial. It wasn’t a little thing to stand up to a Patriarch for anyone, but especially for a Third Ringer. To be honest, I was a bit surprised by Harrison’s bravery, though I wouldn’t tell him that. Though maybe I should.
“Hey,” I whispered behind him as we descended to the Deck and I noticed the tension in his shoulders. “I’ll be here the whole time. If he tries anything…well, I’ve been looking for a reason to smash Cosmo’s head into the stones for a long time.”
I expected him to laugh. Harrison always laughed, even when it wasn’t appropriate. But instead, his voice turned solemn and even lower than mine as he answered without looking back at me.
“Because of him?” he asked. “Dante?”
I froze right in the middle of the stairs. We hadn’t talked about him, or her, since we first met, since I confessed to him I’d tried to kill his former roommate and friend when she was still walking among us. I’d known the conversation was comingbecause it had to, but I’d been dreading it and I certainly wasn’t expecting to have it here, of all places.
Harrison wasn’t stopping, though. If he’d noticed my hesitation behind him, it didn’t slow his stride for a moment. He kept marching on toward the long table erected outside of the twelfth tunnel on the Deck and the platform before it with a focus I wasn’t used to seeing in him.
“There were things that happened in Viper while Dante was here I didn’t know about then,” I confessed quietly as we strode toward the gathering crowd.
Harrison didn’t turn to look at me. He wasn’t supposed to with this many wandering eyes and loose tongues surrounding us. But I knew he was listening.
“Cosmo is crueler than you can imagine and no one is exempt from his rage.”
Harrison’s shoulders stiffened in recognition of what I was saying, what warning I was trying to offer him. Harrison was an open book most days. He said what he thought and loudly. He didn’t hide from injustices he saw in our city. He didn’t mask the fight he held in his heart against them. He’d called Cosmo out once before and the upper and lower rings had nearly come to blows for it then. But as right as Harrison was about Cosmo, he still underestimated him. The old snake wasn’t just evil, he was clever too, and that was perhaps the most dangerous combination of all.
“Harrison!” someone shouted his name as we stepped off the last step onto the Deck. I knew who it was without looking but I still found the golden head bobbing over the others as Graham pushed his way to the back of the crowd, pulling a petite brunette along with him. He was out of breath by the time he reached his brother. “There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Maurice was about to take off and try to find you.”
“I’m here,” Harrison said simply.
“Are you alright?” Graham asked, brow furrowing in obvious concern.
Then the Bexley brothers were pushing their way through the crowd, the red-headed murderer at their side, and I took that as my cue to disappear.
Slinking back through the crowd, I found Milo, Pax, and the others toward the front. They leaned against the inner wall of the Deck, a few dozen feet away from the council table and the platform for the accused. Most of House Avus had made a point to show up and nearly all of Lynx as well, though both Isla and Cora were noticeably absent. I imagined my cousin had implored his wife to stay home as a precautionary measure. Should anything happen, it would be best if only one Heir were present for it, rather than two. My cousin was already the cautious type but we all had to be on our toes where the snakes were concerned.
“Is he here?” Milo asked without looking at me as I settled in beside him on the other side of Pax.
“He is,” I replied, eyes still scanning the restless crowd before us. “Tensions are high, Milo. Do you really think now is a good time for a public spectacle like this?”
“The people need to see no one is exempt from justice, that even the mighty are subject to the will of the Tribunal.”
I frowned at the long table where Jude was now shaking Raghnall’s hand.
“You don’t like him,” Milo said, following my gaze to the leader of the House of Harlowe.
“I don’t like anyone who keeps that many secrets,” I grumbled.
Milo finally turned my way at that, the corner of his lip turning up in an amused grin. I just rolled my eyes and did my best to ignore the feeling of being called out for my hypocrisy. Yes, I had secrets. Probably more than most, that was fair. But I hadn’tbuilt a stone monolith three times longer than any other home in my ring and disobeyed direct summons to hide them. Harlowe had built a monument to his own stubbornness and, in doing so, opened himself up to ridicule because of it. I’d never liked that saint.
“Is he ready?” Milo asked then and I saw his gaze had returned to Harrison where he now stood with the other witnesses.
“To take on Cosmo?” I asked.
“How could he be?” Paxon finished for me.
“He’ll do his part,” I informed them. “He’ll tell the truth.”
That, I had no doubt of.
“When did–” Paxon began but Milo hushed him as Nascha and Raghnall both stood at the Tribunal table.
The entire crowd fell silent at once as Nascha raised her arms and smiled.
“Welcome, citizens of Sanctuary, to a most unprecedented event,” she proclaimed with that matronly air. “A horrific incident has taken place in our beloved city and we are here today to ensure justice is done in the interest of the deceased boy and his mother who remains.”
