A swirl of silver light appeared next to Bastian and took form, becoming Arielle. The silver around her moved like starlight caught in a wind, glowing from head to toe.
When Wolfe stopped at the base of the altar, two giant figures shimmered in next to him. Wolfe was already seven feet tall, but these beings… they had to be at least ten feet.
One was a platinum-haired, bearded man wearing gray robes. He looked like the statues depicting Zeus. The other person had long hair, too, and wore the same type of robes. He looked like the Fae, but he wasn’t. His ears were similar but sharper, there was a celestial glow to his skin I’d never seen before, and he had more chisel to his jaw that made him look like he’d been sculpted by the Gods.
Elf-kind.
Blessed Mother, he was an elf.
Maybe a high elf. They were unheard of now, but Father had told me there’d been one left on the seat of the judges between realms.
Wolfe stepped forward, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a vial.
The vialthat Erethis had used to trap my soul.
“What is the meaning of this?” Prince Maelor marched closer to meet Wolfe.
Beside him, Thayden stood still as a statue, a muscle ticking in his jaw. A sign that what lay before him had landed exactly as Wolfe intended.
Wolfe held the vial higher. “This ceremony will not proceed,” he declared, his voice loud enough to reach every ear and wall in the hall. “Elariya Grayson belongs to me.”
Chapter 35
Elariya
“The Keeper of Her Soul”
We were escorted to the council chamber.
The room felt small, despite being nearly the size of the hall.
A massive oak table dominated its center. No one sat, though chairs lined both sides like silent sentinels.
The room had divided itself into two camps, with the great table serving as a battlefield between them.
On one side stood Wolfe, his Veythral circle, and the two towering figures that had materialized from legend itself.
Theywerejudges. And not just any kind. They oversaw the laws between realms. The high elf represented the magical kingdom, and the man the mortal lands.
On the other side of the table, Prince Maelor stood rigid. Thayden remained at his right with Mattieu completing their triangle of power.
I was beside them with my family. Close enough to be claimed by their camp but far enough to feel the pull of the other side.
Fury was evident on Prince Maelor’s face. I could just imagine how he must have loathed not only being around so many from the magical realm but having to follow orders.
The judges represented the highest laws ofallrealms on either side of the Veil.
In their presence there were only the laws of the Accords. We were waiting for them to speak. And they seemed to be waiting for something else. Something neither of us knew.
They watched and assessed us—Thayden in particular.
The air hung thick with tension so palpable it pressed against my lungs with every breath.
I'd been stealing glances at Wolfe since we'd entered the chamber, hoping, he'd look back at me. I willed those burning eyes to find mine across the divide and offer some sign of what was to come. But he hadn't looked. Not once. In fact, none of them—Arielle, Bastian, Alaric, and Garrick—had looked at me.
Their attention was split between Prince Maelor and the judges.
I understood they were probably limiting contact because I was never supposed to be in the magical realm, especially recently. I’d also kept up the façade that I was shocked and had no idea who they were for Thayden’s sake. But I still wanted someone to acknowledge me.
