She didn’t need to. A shimmer of magic wrapped around my mother’s mouth, sealing it shut.I think I fell a little in love with Rowan right then.
Corwin lunged forward, snarling, “She ran away! She stole from us! She—”
Another flick of Rowan’s wrist. Corwin slammed to his knees, spell-light dragging him down like gravity multiplied by ten. Savla growled behind me—softly, but enough to raise the hairs on my arms.
Rowan turned her gaze back to me. “Speak, child.”
I spoke. And I told themeverything.I told them about theyears of emotional manipulation, the way my parents treated my worth like numbers on a ledger, the glamor cocoon and the kidnapping. I even told them about the way Corwin mocked me for leaving him. I showed them the bruises on my arms from their restraints.
And even more, I told them about the betrayal and the fear. Until finally I got to the rescue. I told them how I’d been saved by my coven and my clan. Myrealcoven and clan. My family bychoice, not by birth.
I didn’t need to tell them about my mating, because Savla stood behind me. My mate who didn’t believe in PDA had his arms around me.
Rowan listened without blinking, her magick vibrating faintly with each detail. Some members of the Circle clenched their hands, others whispered spells for calm, but no one interrupted me.When I finished, the silence in the room was thick and electric with tension and magick. Then Rowan turned to Corwin.
“Corwin Ashvale. You stand accused of binding magic without consent, abduction of a marked witch, attempted soul coercion, and violation of coven autonomy laws. Do you deny these charges?” she asked, her voice a whip in the echoing chamber.
Corwin bared his teeth. “Yes! I deny them all! She’s lying! She ran off with—” He jerked his head toward Savla. “—that beast.Her word is hardly—”
The entire Circle inhaled sharply.
Zara murmured, “Oh, he’s so dead.”
Rowan’s eyes glinted frost-cold. “Savla Everlock is a standing member of the Everlock Clan and protected under the United Clans Treaty. Speak of him again with such contempt, and you will be charged with interplanar discrimination.”
Corwin opened his mouth—and promptly gagged as magicksealed it shut. Rowan turned to my parents.
“Meris and Toland Greyleaf. You are accused of conspiring to bind your daughter, aiding and abetting kidnapping, coercion through inheritance manipulation, and intentional magickal endangerment.” Her voice lowered. “Do you deny these charges?”
My mother lifted one eyebrow, as if bored of the entire proceeding. She tried to speak—but the silence spell held. She glared as if she could intimidate the magick off her.
My father finally cleared his throat. “We were acting within our rights as parents to reclaim property—”
Savla let out a sound I had never heard before. A low, guttural, lethal snarl. Even the Circle flinched.
Rowan’s expression sharpened dangerously. “Your daughter,” she said, “is notproperty.”
Toland shrugged. “She is the heir to our business. We needed her back. We used standard containment spells.”
“Illegal spells,” another Circle witch snapped.
Meris rolled her eyes as if this were all terribly inconvenient. Rowan lifted her hand, and seven glowing runes hovered above the accused.
“Judgment is unanimous,” she said, her voice reverberating with power.
Corwin trembled visibly. Meris and Toland looked mildly annoyed. Rowan spoke with clear, echoing resonance.
“For crimes against a witch of recognized autonomy and against the peace of the coven and clan alliance, the sentencing is as follows—”
Everyone held their breath. “Corwin Ashvale. Your magic is suspended for one year. You are banished from all coven-protected lands and you will compensate the victim for her suffering, as determined by the Circle.”
Corwin let out a muffled scream as his magick implodedinward, leaving him drained, powerless—and terrified.
I didn’t feel joy. Instead, I felt relief. Raw, shaking relief.
Rowan turned to my parents next. They’d been bored before, but after hearing the ruling for Corwin, my mother’s eyes were huge in her face and my father’s lips were opening and closing as if he wanted to argue. But he knew better.
“Meris and Toland Greyleaf, your business license is revoked pending re-evaluation. You are stripped of authority over the Greyleaf inheritance assets. All holdings belonging to Hanna Greyleaf’s grandmother will be transferred to Hanna immediately and you are to have no contact with your daughter unless she initiates it.”
