“Queen Justice, with the court’s permission, the kingsfae would like to dig more into these accusations to uncover exactly what happened. This is all new information to us.”
“Of course, Commander. We would expect nothing less, and I’m sure the Faewood kingsfae will also be working to uncover the truth of what’s been revealed.” The Queen Justice returned her attention to my magistrate. “Now, Magistrate, back to Lady Elowen. Are you telling me she changed fate to have King Paevin murdered upon learning of his crimes?”
My eyes opened wide, and I frantically shook my head.
“Queen Justice, if it pleases you, may Lady Emerson speak for herself?” my magistrate asked.
The justice nodded. “Very well.”
I tried to stand, but I swayed and almost fell. Jax caught me just in time, a low growl rumbling in his chest.
“Is she unwell?” the Queen Justice asked my magistrate.
My magistrate’s lips pursed. “She’s been heavily sedated with magic-suppressing potions since entering the prison system. I dare say her mind is addled right now.”
The Queen Justice’s nostrils flared. “Yet she’s to testify of what she knows?”
“If the courts would allow her daily potions to be halted, I’m sure her mind would be much clearer.”
But the Queen Justice shook her head. “Absolutely not. Until this trial is over, she shall remain suppressed for the safety of the entire realm.”
Stumbling and with Jax’s help, I managed to reach the bench with the three judges. Once standing before them, I peered up at the Queen Justice and the two judges flanking her.
They all gazed down at me, their faces stern masks and hard lines.
“Tell me, Lady Emerson,” the Queen Justice began. “Did you command the fates to murder King Paevin?”
I shook my head. “No, Queen Justice, but I did tell the semelees to stop King Paevin’s plan to enslave the half-breeds and march his newly formed army on the kingdoms, but I didn’t specify how. The semelees decided that path on their own.”
The Queen Justice leaned toward the two judges, and they began to whisper. After a few terse exchanges, she straightened. “When her official testimony begins, we shall need Lady Emerson to ingest a truth potion to ensure her statements are honest.”
“Another potion?” Jax growled. “Her mind is already entirely fogged.”
The Queen Justice snapped her attention to him. “Prince Adarian, while I understand you’re next in line to be the king of Stonewild, let me remind you that your presence here is on my terms only. I allowed you to enter this courtroom with your looking glasses as a sign of good faith between the supernatural courts and the crown, based upon your involvement of what’s occurred. Don’t make me regret that decision.”
Jax clamped his mouth shut and didn’t say more, but his eyes turned into deadly chips of ice.
“Now,” the Queen Justice turned back to my magistrate. “Lady Elowen may return to her seat, and you may finish presenting what you plan to show the court.”
CHAPTER 28
The first day of my trial was a formality more than anything. My magistrate outlined what she planned to reveal to the courts over the duration of my trial, and I learned what witnesses would be called forth and what evidence she planned to submit. Following that, I was taken to a smaller prison than the one I’d been kept in on the Nolus continent. The guards hauled me out immediately, not even allowing me to say goodbye to Jax or my friends.
My new cell was just outside of Jaggedston. It was just as forbidding, but the rock walls didn’t shift like they did on the Nolus continent, but the potions continued.
Each day of my trial blurred from one day to the next. My head was perpetually fuzzy. Muddled. And I was so unbearably tired, but I tried my best to focus.
Each witness who my magistrate had found came forward, one after another. I was vaguely able to understand why my magistrate was presenting them, but it was too hard to fully comprehend what they were saying.
And when the day finally arrived when it was my turn to testify, my heart turned into a galloping beast. Because the courts would not allow me to speak without taking a truth potion.
“Bring the truth potion.” The Queen Justice signaled the guard, who disappeared back into a room in the court’s corner. He re-emerged a few minutes later carrying a tiny vial.
“Drink.” The Queen Justice made a motion toward me. “And then we’ll get to the bottom of all of this.”
Behind me, Jax’s aura pulsed steadily around him. The Queen Justice didn’t like him touching me or talking to me, as she’d made clear on the second day of my trial, so instead of laying a hand on my shoulder as he’d done the first day, he instead used his magic to soothe me as best he could.
Pine and spice wrapped around me, filling my senses as he projected his aura outward. Warmth from his air element billowed against my back next, warming my perpetually cool skin. There was only so much he could do to help me in the courtroom, but he was constantly doing something.
