Natalie zooms in on what I assume is the map, though she’s too far away for me to see it—and too far for anyone else to see it either. I resist the urge to get up and push her closer to the jury. Can’t we roll a projector in here or something?
“And itisdispersing,” Natalie explains. “The map shows a slow progression outward. In time, it will be safely out of the city and away from the Madsens. This was the safest way to stop them from getting it.”
“How dare— That is not for you to decide!” Fiona snaps. “Dictating how we manage magic is beside the point of this trial.”
Natalie cocks an eyebrow. “Even when this shows that Katie made the right call? You’re determined to ignore the fact that we were losing our fight against the Madsens, so Madsens aside, here’s proof that Katie’s actions had a desirable outcome.”
Agnes’s scoff echoes through the chamber.
Fiona grips the desk. “All that map shows is what a mess you both made. Now, are you finished with your little presentation?”
“One last thing.” Natalie clicks off her phone and crosses her arms. “I want you to consider what imprisoning Katie means. You’ll be punishing someone for acting in defense of magic—someone who agreed to use her abilities to serve the coven. We need Katie to help us track down curses and feral magic…and to find my dad. And yet you’re punishing the intuition that could save us.”
The jury is quiet, looking between Natalie and Fiona.
Natalie dips her chin. “Thank you. I’ll answer any questions you have.”
Fiona glares at her for a long, tense moment. The jury whispers, heads bowed together, glances shifting my way.
Gratitude swells in my chest. If Natalie’s arguments can’t convince the coven that I don’t deserve punishment, nothing will.
“Very well.” Fiona’s voice pierces the hum. “Jury, you’ve heard the accused and her witness. Now, let’s stop wasting time. Cast your votes.”
Natalie comes to stand beside me, gripping my shoulder. But with the verdict looming, even her touch isn’t enough to reassure me right now.
Should I have said more? Maybe they don’t fully understand how dangerous the Madsens are. I should have reminded them of how close Freddie came to killing me in that Alchemy room, and how they left a cursed plushie at my door that nearly killed Hazel. I should have shown them the threatening text I got from Oaklyn, and…
Sky lifts her hand, and a wooden token floats across the room and settles into one of the vases on Fiona’s desk, where it turns green and glows like an emerald.
Agnes does the same—but her token drops into the other vase with a pointedclack, where it turns ruby-red.
My heart stumbles. This is how they vote, then. Tokens in jars, like this is all some game.
Hayley and Neil’s chips fall into the green vase. Others go into the red one. More float through the air—green, red, red, green. I lose count.
At last, the room goes still. Every person in the jury has cast their vote.
Natalie’s grip tightens over my shoulder.
Fiona’s fingers dance, and the tokens rise like fireflies, where they hang suspended. She counts, her lips moving silently.
I perch forward, my pulse beating in my neck as I frantically try to count the votes. They’re too far away, everything blurring together.
“Katie Medina Alexander,” Fiona says, pinning me under her sharp gaze.
Natalie sucks in a breath.
My heart seems to stop.
Fiona’s lips curl. “The jury hereby finds you guilty on all charges.”
“No!” Natalie barks, letting go of my shoulder to step forward.
Fiona rises, her clenched jaw and imposing stance daring Natalie to keep talking.
The world tilts.Guilty?
The roses on the walls blur and twist, their thorns seeming to reach for me as voices warp like I’m underwater. The room gets vaster, darker, leaving me alone in a void. I grip the edge of the chair to steady myself.
