I close my eyes, picturing the faces of all who were lost.
“Emilia was only nine. Fawn, maybe sixteen. The man who is responsible for their deaths can’t be punished by the Council. What good will I do?” Nausea pulses in my stomach again. “I don’t know if I can do it, Cora. When I close my eyes, all I see are those gods-awful bright lights. Blood. Innocent people I had no way of saving . . . Just saying that sadistic asshole’s name makes me want to vomit.”
“Violence is their greatest fear tactic. They think that inflicting pain is power, but truthfully, it’s the only thing thesemonsters have. I’ve grown to pity them for lacking the ability to feel anything else.”
“How old were you when the vampires came?”
For a moment, she freezes. “Seventeen,” she whispers. “Qinnu found me stripped and chained to the fence of the house I grew up in. I’d been raped, slashed, bitten, and nearly bled dry. My mother, too.”
A hand clamps over my mouth. Cora pushes back her sleeve, bunching it around the elbow. The canvas of her skin is covered in thick scars left by the tearing and puncturing of fangs.
She takes my hand and tenderly places it over her forearm. Empathy gleams in her hazel eyes. “The fear that traps you beneath its claws, the memories that play back in your mind . . . they don’t have to define the rest of your life. You don’t have to face them alone. I am here for you. As are Axe and Nell and Tesni, and all the rest who admire you. When you’re in that assembly room, you remember that yousurvived. You are living proof that darkness doesn’t get the final word.”
Chapter 50
VESSA
My blunt-clipped nails dig into the pockets of my blazer. Staring at the gnarly cuticles, I bite my lip, ashamed by how I’ve picked and torn at them. A nervous habit that, even at my best, I’ve never been able to overcome. Especially now, considering how thoroughly the sadness devours me. My clothes have almost nothing to cling to.
At the podium, a woman casts her voice out into the assembly room. The councilwoman dons a floor-length violet robe, her dark hair coiled and pinned neatly to the crown of her head. Nearly every chair has been filled. Unlike the foyer outside, garnished with polished oak engravings and stained glass, the hearing room is rather mundane, with mauve drapes concealing the mountain views and stiff chair cushions that I can’t get comfortable in no matter how many ways I cross my legs.
As she reads to the court, Jabir whispers her name to me. Cecily. I gulp. Thirty-two souls lost. It's unfathomable. Half of them were likely the other girls who were executed before the rescue team showed up.
Nell looks like she might be sick.
"On a positive note, fourteen humans made it out safely."
The silver-haired regent, Naomi, straightens in her chair, eyes narrowing with interest. "Has the Commander turned them over to the local authorities?"
Axe shakes his head. "I have not, though it is unlikely enforcers are actively pursuing missing persons reports for these girls. The survivors have been brought back to Tukkon, where they seek shelter in the lands of the Tilaak people. Chief Kismet has humbly accepted them into the community, where they will be cared for and taught to abide by the conditions of the peace treaty."
It’s devastating, knowing that lycan law prohibits these girls from being reunited with their families after what they have witnessed. But sanctuary is better than imprisonment.
The regent grits her teeth. "Very well."
The first who are called to testify are the only two lycans Axe's men spared in the recovery mission, both from Kiersten and Levi’s employ. One is the middle-aged woman who managed the Ludone processing shifts. The other is a guard who I only saw briefly in passing. Beaten and darkly bruised, it is difficult at times to comprehend his account.
Two hours into the hearing, my composure begins to waver. Eyeing the clock, I sit on my anxious hands, breathing deeply in and out. After Cora, I will be the next to speak.
Naomi shuffles her papers and looks to her colleagues. My heart drums against its cage. Axe’s hand strokes my shoulder while sending an affirmation of comfort through our heartline connection. The first gesture I’ve felt there in almost a week.
At last, my name is uttered, echoing to the back of the room. Releasing a heavy exhale, I accept Cora’s hand and approach the testimony box.
Stay calm. Show no fear.
I lower myself onto the rigid wood chair, staring out at the crowd and bracing for the first of many uncomfortablequestions. The head of the Council clears her throat. “I understand that the trauma you experienced might still feel raw. It is not our intention to put you through any more distress, but your testimony is crucial to our records.”
“I understand, your excellence.”
Naomi nods, ready to proceed. Over the next hour, the Council probes me, exhausting dozens of questions surrounding the kidnapping, Ludone manufacturing, and the brutality of being under Levi’s thumb. Jabir plays the audio from the blackmail video, cutting off just as Kiersten storms into the room. I shudder, recalling how defiled I felt with that camera pointed at me, strapped down and half-naked.
One of the elder councilmen casts a scrutinous gaze at me. “How many lycans did you say you took down exactly?”
“Five, including the shooter who killed Demi.”
The councilman stares me down in disbelief. “In your state of exhaustion, you executed five men?”
“Yes.”
