Gwinifer didn’t hesitate. She lunged, her fist slamming into his jaw with enough force to snap his head back. He stumbled, glaring at her as the other two Scions stepped between them.
Varian sneered. “I’ll make sure you’re dragged back to whatever pit you crawled out of, Wicklow.” He spat on the floor, turning to face his lackeys. “Alert Judge Nova Malory.”
“Thank the Grimoire that I can’tkillyou right now,” Gwinifer hissed, her nose curling.
He dusted himself off. “My father’s estate in the hands of barbarians. But lucky for you, I am more merciful than my cousin. I’ll grant him one final gift. I’ll ask Malory to send the human back to her land. It’s what he wanted, after all.”
Icy rage poured into me. I turned just enough to glare over my shoulder. “He doesn’t need anything from you. And we’ll see Mountheim rebel if someone as weak as you rules over it.”
His mouth pressed into a displeased line, and I took some satisfaction from it. It didn’t last long.
I pushed myself up from the floor, wiping the dampness from my face. “Do you know what could break his curse?” I asked Finn and Gwin.
The emissary shook his head. Gwinifer said, “We don’t know. He was the only one who knew, and he couldn’t tell anyone. He said we needed to wait, that he wouldn’t commit the same mistakes, and that things would fall into place. But...”
I stared at her, waiting for her to continue. “But what?”
Gwinifer sighed, glancing between the beast and me. “But he didn’t sound sure. Reagan always speaks with conviction, like he couldn’t be wrong. But about this...He didn’t seem sure of what would happen.”
“He was overconfident, as always,” Varian said.
“Or you are the reason things are not developing as they should,” Finnegan seethed, launching himself at Varian. Gwin held him this time. “Because you interfered.”
“The only thing I did was bring her here, because it was the only way to talk to him. But as I expected, it is hard to have a civil conversation with Reagan. He was prepared to bring down the cabin,” Varian said, gesturing to the mess of ceramic and splintered wood on the floor. “Do you want to be ruled by someone so unhinged?”
“You tortured her, scum,” Gwinifer hissed. “You had a Wraith drain him.”
Varian blinked, unfazed. “A necessary precaution.”
I chose to ignore him. “So only Malory would know what would break his curse?”
“Maybe,” Finn replied, “or the official who should be here any minute now.”
“Here?” I asked.
Gwinifer nodded. “When a curse reaches its end, they come for the person and bring them before the magister.”
So, we waited.
My mind was reeling. I glanced down at the creature sprawled near my feet, unconscious but still breathing. Trappedin this form—a form meant to terrify, with the towering size of a bear, the horns of a bison, and the massive head of a wolf.
A sharp crackle, like the hum of electricity, filled the air. Then she was there.
Judge Malory.
Every person in the room seemed to hold their breath, afraid to breathe. All eyes locked on the judge.
Shewas here. Not any official.The judge.
With an impassive face, she surveyed the room, each person, finally landing on the figure on the floor. Her stare was heavy, devoid of emotion, and emanating so much power that my spine almost pulled me into a bow so I wouldn’t look her in the eye.
She had an aura around her, wrapped like the dark green cloak falling over her shoulders. It whispered of respect, of an authority that shouldn’t be confronted.
“Judge Malory,” Varian said, his voice entirely different. Rigid.
She still watched Reagan, her expression as cold as frostbite. My instincts screamed to shield him, to hide him from her calculating gaze. She had done this to him. Placed the curse that twisted his fate. I did not care if she hadn’t chosen the fate. He’d been in pain, and she had chosen to punish him further.
My eyes narrowed on her, and she met my gaze for the briefest of moments before speaking, her voice even.
