“My name is Naree,” she tells me.
“I am Mote,” the younger looking female with the long white blonde hair and the dark eyes says.
“I am Port,” the male Sentinel on the tribunal introduces. He looks less angry today, but I’m not going to read too much into that.
“And I am Wella,” the eldest female offers.
I nod at all of them and lace my fingers together on the table. Wella and Port both eye the marks on my hands and arms.
“I believe you know the others seated at the table,” Naree announces, and I give her a nod.
“Excellent. Then we will begin,” she decrees.
“Do you know why you are here, Vinna?” Wella asks me.
“I breached your barrier,” I answer, my tone making it seem like more of a question than a definitive answer.
“That, and you attacked the Sovereign,” Port snidely adds.
“I didn’t attack the Sovereign,” I defend. “I attackedhim,” I explain, pointing to Sauriel. “I mean, I didn’t actually get to him, my Chosen stopped me, but Itriedto attack him.”
Port sneers at me and shares a look with Mote.
Well, shit.
“So you admit that you attacked a Quorum member?” Naree asks me.
“Yes, but it’s not that simple,” I counter.
“And why is it not that simple?” she presses.
“I thought he was his brother, Adriel. I came in search of Sentinel City...I mean...Tierit right after I fought Adriel. When I saw Sauriel, I thought somehow he was still alive,” I explain, but it doesn’t seem to be impacting the narrowed eyes everyone on the tribunal, except for Sabin, is giving me.
“Did you have a plan to attack the Sovereign when you breached our barriers?” Naree asks me, dismissing the Adriel topic.
Why do I get the impression that these people don’t care that he was hunting and torturing Sentinels?
“What?” I ask, surprised by her question. “No. I didn’t even know there was a Sovereign until Sentinel guards were dropping out of the sky and announcing that the Sovereign had ordered that we be dispatched,” I declare.
“How did you get through the barrier?” Mote demands, leaning forward with interest.
“We just walked through.” I’m struggling not to fidget in the chair as they rapid fire questions at me. This is way more hostile and formal than I was expecting. The way Enoch and the others described their questioning and Suryn’s questioning did not involve weighted glares of judgment and a shit ton of accusations.
“We are the tribunal that has been called to decide whether or not you and your Chosen pose a threat to our community and leaders. Lying to us will not help your cause,” Port states with a sneer.
“I haven’t lied,” I defend, looking from Port to Sabin and Torrez, my gaze screamingMayday.
“Vinna, after you realized that Sauriel was not in fact his identical twin brother, Adriel, did you stop your advances on him?” Sabin asks me.
“Yes,” I answer simply and try not to sigh with relief that not everyone here is filled to the brim with prejudgment.
“When the Sovereign issued a dispatch order against you, what did you think of that?” Sauriel asks me.
“I didn’t understand why. We were hoping to get some answers in coming here. I didn’t know that I would be ordered to death for that. I would have never come and put my Chosen and Shields in harm’s way if I had known we wouldn’t be welcome here,” I add.
The room grows quiet for a moment, and I sit there awkwardly wondering what they’ll hammer me about next.
“We know, from your Shields and your two Chosen here, a great deal about you,” Naree states matter-of-factly. “Sabin has explained how you came to the casters and has detailed the events leading up to your discovery of us here in Tierit. Your Shields discussed your abilities and your training, and all of them have confirmed you're... How did you put it, Sabin? Ah yes, you'rewinging this whole Sentinel thing.”
