“Luka has nothing to do with this,” Elijah spat. “It doesn’t matter if Luka thinks my cousin is or is not a vigilante, Ethan Nowak still is one!”
“Are you questioning the authority of the Seven Gods?” Magdalina asked.
“Of course not, but look at the facts!”
“What’s a fact, inyourdetermination, my king? I’m certain the court would love to hear it.”
The arguing went on. Magdalina was giving half-truths, while the Circle kept responding with equally misleading language. The two sides were dancing around each other instead of getting to the point.
“What the hell is going on? This isn’t like any court case I’ve ever seen,” I hissed to Stefan.
“You forget that you’re in afaeriecourt,” Stefan whispered back. “Nuances and turn of phrase are very important.”
Theo nodded. “Magdalina’s trying to pull off apola pradwa.”
“A-what?”
“In the old Seelie and Unseelie courts, lawyers would argue with the judges for days on what somethingmeant, instead of the actual occurrence of the crime,” Theo replied. “Meaning of words were dissected and evaluated endlessly. The courts would hardly talk about what the defendant had done at all. By the end of it, everyone would be so confused that the trial couldn’t continue. It was determined no one could say for certain what the defendant had or hadn’t done, and the case would end up getting dismissed.”
I chewed my lip. “So… the court is just going to sit here and fight all day about themeaningof Ethan’s actions, instead of what he actually did?”
“Yes.”
“That’s awfully stupid.”
“It’s how our illusion magic works. Words mean everything to a fae, and intention is what creates our power. If Ethan’s not careful, he’ll convict himself.”
“Or set himself free,” Theo whispered back. “If Ethanimpliesthe right thing, the Circle will be forced to let him go.”
“Or Lady Magdalina could just twist everything up so badly, the Circle won’t know which way is up, and they let Ethan go out of frustration,” Stefan suggested.
“Doubt it,” I heard Delmare add. “Eli wants Ethan to pay. He’ll make this case go on for months if he has to.”
Fae rules could be confusing, but they might be on our side. If Magdalina could prove Ethan had the right intentions, even if he was convinced of a crime, he could still walk. This was far from over.
After over an hour of arguing over meanings, Elijah slammed his fist down on the table. “Enough! I’ll have no more of this. It is clear there is so much evidence against my cousin, it will take more than one day to get through it all. I order that the court will take a recess. We will resume trial tomorrow morning, where we will be moving on to witness testimony.”
Magdalina frowned. Her attempt at pulling off apola pradwahadn’t worked, but I was sure she’d attempt to do so again at the first opportunity.
I wasn’t fooled by Elijah’s declaration that the court needed a break. He wanted another night of scheming with Gabby, to plot how they could turn this trial in their favor.
My head hurt. I was tired of watching fae try to manipulate each other all day long. My heart ached as I watched the guards drag Ethan away again, out of my sight and away from my arms. I’d hoped to the gods we’d be together again before the day was over. It looked like I had another lonely, sleepless night ahead of me.
Sorceresses were glaring at me, and mumbling things under their breath that were cruel. Stefan put his arm around me and said, “Come on, Emma. You don’t need this.”
Stefan guided me back to the carriage outside. The press swarmed me again, but I jumped inside the carriage before anyone could say something that set me off. Delmare, Stefan, Theo, and Odette joined me. I don’t know what happened to the rest of my companions. I didn’t see— I’d been keeping my head down in shame.
The moment the door to the carriage was shut and we got on the road, I burst into tears.
“Why don’t they just get it over with?” I sobbed. By the gods, seeing Ethan lose his head would be more bearable than watching the Circle tear him to pieces like this. Couldn’t they let him die with a sense of dignity?
“Eli’s making a spectacle of him. He wants to be sure there will be no more dissenters,” Stefan said glumly.
“That doesn’t mean they need to make this a circus! He was humiliated when it was announced I wanted to leave him!” I took a handkerchief out of my pocket and blew my nose. I’d had to work myself up for this day forweeks, and it wasn’t even over with. We had a brand new day of court tomorrow. I didn’t think I was strong enough for this.
“It doesn’t matter what happened in your past. What happens is that you love each other now,” Delmare said as she stroked my hair. “I know you guys will get through this. You always have.”
I wasn’t sure. And that uncertainty was scarier than any conviction.
