“So, functionally, he is your son?”
“Not exactly ...” Zephyr fidgeted with the hem of his jacket. “I am more like a tutor, or a warden. Perhaps an exasperated uncle …”
“I do not think that this man’s testimony is reliable, due to his relationship with the accused,” the judge said.
The examiner objected quickly. “But I believe that he may know …”
“Nothing he says is reliable, and it is illegal to make a father testify against a child.”
“But he is not his father.”
“Close enough. Zephyr Laminaria is dismissed from testimony.”
As Lady Justice led Zephyr to his seat, his gaze never left Asherton. If this was how an exasperated uncle acted, Magdala thought, she would have liked to trade her father for one.
The examiner let out a long sigh. “Your Highness, howdid you come by the blood on your clothes?”
“Have you not seen my face?” Asherton replied, brusque.
“So all of the blood on your clothes was your own?” the examiner persisted.
“It was a very severe beating,” Asherton gritted. “I believe he was trying to kill me.”
“That’s a lie!”
Magdala jumped. Angelonia had launched out of her seat and was leaning over the bench in front of her. “Julian would never do that! He was gentle! He was kind! He was not aggressive!”
Magdala’s arms tingled, and she recalled the sting of Julian’s fingers on her skin, the force of his arms throwing her down the stairs. She still had bruises hidden under her clothes. Surely, Angelonia knew what kind of man he had become?
“I did not murder Julian Davenport,” the prince said. “But I believe that he meant to, and nearly did, murder me.”
“Asherton didn’t have the strength to murder anyone!” Zephyr shouted, jumping to his feet. “He was broken! Bleeding! Two days later, he was still confined to his bed. How could he overcome and kill a man of Julian’s size and physical capabilities after such a beating?”
The prince pulled his head back slightly, like he was offended. He wasn’t a small man, and Magdala guessed he could do some damage, if pressed.
“Sit down!” Lady Justice shouted.
“NO! This is absurd! Julian attacked the crown prince of Allagesh. Had he not been murdered a few moments later, he would be on trial right now, and he would be hanged for his crimes!”
Now Huxley was on his feet, bellowing, “Julian beat him as the prince drowned him to death!”
“That’s mad!” Zephyr shouted back. “What water? His clothes were dry.”
“Perhaps he moved the body.”
“How could he move the body? When I found him, he was barely able to stand!”
The room erupted. Every member of the royal guard was yelling, everyone on their feet. Lady Justice fought her way down the aisle, grabbed Zephyr, and dragged him from the room as he hurled curses at them, his heels squealing on the floor.
The doors opened, late afternoon sunlight blinding them, then slammed shut in Zephyr’s face. The room calmed, everyone sitting down under a hum of tense conversation. Angelonia alone remained on her feet, tall and stately. A light shone in through a high window and touched her pale hair. It shone, halo-like, in the dark room, and she glowed like a saint bereft.
“I have determined,” the judge said, “that there is not sufficient evidence to convict anyone of the murder at this time.”
Everyone gasped in unison. Asherton dropped his head back and let out a long exhale.
“The prince is to return to Elegy. He will remain there, in exile, until his twenty-first birthday, when he will ascend the throne and all charges or suspicions will be laid to rest. If he admits to the crime or if there is definitive evidence, then he will be required to abdicate and shall be sent away from Allagesh and all Allageshan lands.”
Angelonia let out a shrieking sob and covered her face with her hands. The prince leaned forward and rested his head on the railing.
