But the thick, ropey scar around her throat was her most arresting feature. I’d heard only fragments of the story of those who’d tried to behead her. The only thing I knew for certain was that Nin had ensured they spent years dying.
She stopped a short distance from Caleb. Sweat dotted his forehead as he stared at a spot near her feet—or tried to. Slowly, his head lifted, and he grunted as he fought the battle and lost.
“Impressive,” she said, torchlight reflected in her black eyes. “I can see why Jesse is enamored.”
Anger twisted my guts. I wasn’tenamored. That word was too small and fleeting to describe my feelings for Caleb.
Nin studied him, the suggestion of a smile on her lips. “You didn’t expect a woman to be head of the Council.”
He swallowed. “I guess I wasn’t sure what to expect.”
“An honest answer,” she said. Then she raised her voice. “You were sired by a rogue. Our laws are clear. We do not permit rogues to live.”
Desperation rose hot and wild within me. I gripped the edge of the bench and squeezed. I’d been running from this momentsince the night I tracked down Caleb on the jogging trail. Now it was here.
I couldn’t intervene. If I moved, Stefanos would stop me before I left the risers.
So I held still and tried to remember how to breathe.
Nin turned and looked directly at me. “You deserve to be punished as well, wolfseeker. But having seen the two of you together, I believe watching the boy’s trial will be punishment enough.”
I was on my feet before I could think better of it. “You can’t?—”
“Sit down,” Stefanos snapped, and his power wrapped around me and slammed me back to the bench.
Nin returned her attention to Caleb, ignoring my outburst as if it was beneath her. My wolf whined in my head. Every part of me wanted tomove, to charge down the steps and put myself between her and Caleb. But Stefanos had given me one warning. He wouldn’t give another.
Staying in my seat was unthinkable. It was also the only thing I could do for Caleb.
Nin extended a hand toward him. “We all have fears,” she said. “Let’s have a look at yours.”
He paled, the sweat on his forehead glistening in the torchlight. His chest heaved as his breathing picked up.
“S-Stop…” he gasped.
Nin watched him, her dark eyes lightening to smoky gray.
“Stop!” Caleb yelled. He gripped the chair’s arms, his knuckles going white. His jaw worked. The scent of burning tires filled the chamber.
My wolf thrashed in my mind. The bench creaked under my hands, wood threatening to give.
Caleb sobbed.
Then he screamed.
Chapter
Twenty-Eight
CALEB
It’s not real.
It’s not real.
I clung to the words, but they faded as Jesse rose from the risers and jogged down the stone steps. He strode past Nin, jaw set like he was going to yank me from the chair and carry me out of the chamber.
But he wouldn’t. I knew that now. Nin had already shown me. She’d shown me so many things—none of them good.
