“Fuck them. Next weekend, we are going to show them it’s not like that.”
“They won’t let me near your home.”
“They will if I’m with you. You think they are going to tell me no. I’d like to see that.”
My lips curved at the corners as a small smile spread. I like that idea—a lot. “Thanks, Lu.”
“What are blood-brothers for?”
I hated that he made that pack, but I was glad he did that too. It gave me hope when I needed it the most.
24
ELENA
Isat next to King Helmut in a room that almost reminded me of a courthouse, but wasn’t.
The roof was glass and light from outside seeped through, but for some magical reason, it didn’t reach the rose marble floor. Dark wood-paneled walls gleamed and reflected the judges’ bench, but it wasn’t just one chair behind the desk. There were five. I stared at the different symbols engraved on the wooden panels against the walls.
Lantern lights molded into the walls lit up the gallery stacked theater style, diagonally facing the judges’ bench. In the middle of it all, on the rose marble polished floor sat two lonely chairs next to each other, facing the judges.
A tiny court reporter’s desk was right below the judges’ bench, and a man with a dark robe sat behind the desk.
Doors at the end of the gallery opened and humans wearing long, black and different color robes streamed in. They all took their places and the soft chattering reached my ears as they greeted each other.
My eyes skidded over the variety of bodies, tiny, skinny, tall, round, and semi-giant. Some of them had pepper streaks in green, brown, black, blond, blue, red and silver hair. There was one guy that had snow white hair.
I sat next to King Helmut in the front row. Emanual took the chair on the other side of him. My father was somewhere in this building.
Everyone took their seats as the conversation between them calmed down.
“Helmut.” A tall man with dark, curly hair and brown eyes greeted King Helmut from the row behind us.
“Caleb.” He spoke. “Elena, King Caleb, ruler of Areeth.”
He had sunken cheeks and wide, thin lips. I stood on the balls of my feet and reached out my hand. King Caleb looked at it before his icy hand touched mine and shook it once. “You sure look like Albert.”
“So I heard.” I still did not know what my dad and mom looked like.
“Nice meeting you.” He didn’t smile and his eyes flickered to the judges’ bench. He didn’t even give me a chance to reply.
I sat back down, and my heart stammered as my palms become sweaty.
He took a seat behind Helmut and Emanual.
Emanual mumbled in Latin to Helmut. I despised this language more because I didn’t understand one word.
King Helmut reached out his hand and tapped my knee.
My lips tugged upward as he winked. The door that led to the judges’ bench opened and five elders, all men, walked through a door stationed by the podium. They all had silver gray hair, loads of wrinkles, and their eyes were different colors but glassy.
The first one had jowly cheeks with cold blue eyes. His robe looked like the others, but there were white trimmings woven into the robe. The next one was taller and had bald patches with bushy white eyebrows. His lips moved as he spoke to the one in the first seat that just nodded. Red trimmings woven into the black of his robe.
The third judge had dark eyes with pepper eyebrows. His nose was exceptionally long and crooked. He looked down at the bench. Green trimmings woven into the black of his robe. The fourth one looked bored with gray, wispy hair. His wrinkles sat deep into his cheeks and his robe was pure black. The last one rested his head on his palm and his blue eyes fixed on me. I looked away. He had the most hair of them all and looked the strongest too. Blue trimmings overpowered the black in his robe.
My eyes flickered to him, and he was still staring. Why was he staring at me like that?
Helmut leaned closer to me. “Those are the ancients. They make a lot of big decisions on Paegeia’s behalf.”
