“Six months of recovery will do that.” I was glad I’d healed up since my injury. The last time they’d said goodbye in the hospital, I knew I hadn’t looked great.
Daddy moved aside, and I saw that my little sister had been standing behind him. My heart fell from my chest into my stomach.
“Alana, you shouldn’t be here,” I said. I didn’t want her to watch this circus.
“I’m almost the age you were when this happened to you,” Alana said. “If you can get up there and be strong enough to tell your story, I can be strong enough to hear it. You need my support.”
I wanted her to go home, but at the same time, didn’t want her to leave. “So how is this going to go down?” I asked. I’d been in court plenty of times, but I’d never been on the side of the prosecution, so I didn’t know what to expect.
“There are six women in total that are testifying, yourself included. The testimonies will be going in the order of crimes committed, so unfortunately, you’re up first,” Daddy said reluctantly.
“Not unfortunately. I just want to get this over with. Who’s judging the trial?” I asked.
“John waived his right to a jury, so they asked Judge Tellus of Nivita to preside,” Mama said, with a glance at Daddy.
My mouth ran dry. “They picked someone from John’s own House to give the verdict?”
“He probably thinks it’ll be easier to convince one person he’s not guilty than a whole jury,” Alana added, crossing her arms.
“Judge Tellus is fair. I’ve worked with him before, and he’ll want to hear the truth over being loyal to his House,” Daddy insisted.
I wasn’t about to buy that. “And what’s the bastard pleaing?”
“He refused to take a plea bargain and is maintaining his innocence,” Daddy said, a sense of pure hatred in his tone.
“Good,” I growled. “I don’t want the Elders cutting this psycho any deals.”
“They weren’t going to press charges, until the evidence of his assault against the last girl was too overwhelming to deny,” Alana said quietly.
“We still have to prove that he committed five other assaults,” I mumbled.
“You don’t have to prove anything,” Daddy encouraged. “Just do the best you can, peanut, and leave the rest up to the judge.”
The doors to the courtroom opened, and I knew we’d be starting soon. I managed to steady my shaking hands enough to roll myself forward. Oberi walked in front of me, keeping his ears perked.
At the entrance to the courtroom, the bailiff stopped me and withdrew a set of handcuffs. The bailiff went to put the handcuffs on me, glanced at my chair, then shook his head and pocketed them away.
Look, buddy, I can still make an escape in this thing, I thought sourly. But I wasn’t going to complain, because I didn’t want to look like some sort of criminal while I was stating my testimony… even if, you know, I was one.
Daddy sneered at the bailiff, who quickly looked down. I moved to the front of the room, while my family took a seat in the row behind me. As I parked my wheelchair, I looked down the row at the girls sitting on the bench next to me.
They had to be the other…victims. We all shared the same look as we shared glances.He got you too, huh?
There weren’t any resemblances between us, except I knew we were all Toaqua girls. That was where the similarities ended, it seemed. I’d been told the rest of them had been introduced before this trial, but seeing as how I’d been at the Institute, I hadn’t met any of them yet.
The girl next to me held a wadded-up tissue, but she wasn’t crying. The faces of the other girls were somber, save for the small one at the end, who was already weeping. She appeared a nervous wreck. I didn’t think she was going to make it through this trial.
I steeled myself. I had to be strong for the rest of these girls. I was going first. I needed to set an example and help them be able to testify.
None of these girls had a Familiar but me, which meant they were all really young. If they were sophomores at Orenda Academy, I’d be shocked.
“Mrs. Wahkin, I’m glad to see you here.” A woman stood in front of my chair and outstretched her hand. “I’m Alexa Walker. I’ll be the prosecuting attorney for these proceedings.”
I shook it, taking in her no-nonsense stance. She certainly seemed capable. “Thank you for doing this.”
“There’s no need to thank me. It’s my job to prosecute the worst of the worst, and from what I’ve read from your case file, the defendant certainly fits the bill.”
“You read my case file?” I shouldn’t be surprised— she had to, in order to try the case, but at the same time, it felt extremely revealing to be speaking to this woman for the first time when she already knew all about one of the worst days of my life.
