Page 165 of House of Ashes

“I didn’t talk her into anything,” Elinor spat at her mate. “I asked for truthful witnesses.”

Doric’s nostrils flared. “Then why haven’t I been able to speak in your mind for three days?” he asked quietly. “Why block me out, if you’re not plotting with the lady of your House?”

Her lip curled. “There’s a very simple way to test this. Unless you want to be ruled over by a liar. They’ve broken the Law, Doric! They have no bond or claim!”

“Then test it.” Doric folded his arms over his chest, but the look on his face as he gazed at his mate was not far off from hate. “I’ve known Rhylan for far longer than you. He’s not the kind of dragon to lie about this. This is just a powerplay for her sake.” He jerked his chin at Asura, who hissed softly under her breath. “Aren’t you two close friends? If you want testimony, let me give it: when Maristela was excommunicated from her House, it wasn’t sympathy I heard in your head, Elinor.”

She stared at him, fists clenched at her sides. All eyes were on them, the other dragonbloods’ expressions torn between disbelief and barely-concealed impatience.

I flexed my fingers, attempting to reach for my armguard daggers, but my extremities were tingling, going numb from their painful position at my back.

“None of that.” Cyran’s heel ground into my spine. I winced, biting back a pained sound.

Maristela’s soft voice came from behind me. “We don’t believe you either, Elinor. This isn’t a Judgment, it's a backstabbing.”

If none of them believed her…we could still get out of this alive.

But Chantrelle did not acknowledge her eldest daughter. She simply pushed Elinor aside and crushed my hopes with her next word.

“Give her the word, then.” To the rest of the assembly, she held up a hand. “You will all know this word. It was signed at the bottom of the declarations of Judgment.”

I saw knowing looks settle over faces that had been skeptical only a moment ago. There was a secret word…which Rhylan would not be able to pluck from my mind.

It was futile. Hopeless. The wriggling fear in my brain bit down, accusing me: this is all your fault. You didn’t try hard enough. You only hoped, when you should have willed it. You could have saved his life.

It’s your fault. Your fault, your fault, your fault.

Elinor knelt next to me. Asura and Cyran hauled on my arms, dragging me upright. She leaned in to cup her hand against my ear, and whispered, so softly he would never be able to hear it, “Traitor.”

I stared at Rhylan, willing the word across. Thinking TRAITOR, TRAITOR, TRAITOR as loudly as I could…

And there was only silence in my mind. No one but me was screaming in there.

“Well?” Chantrelle demanded imperiously, voice shrill, her fists clenched at her sides. “What is it, Prince Rhylan? If you haven’t broken the Law, if you are truly bonded, you should have known the second Elinor spoke to her.”

The second dragged on, each taking a thousand years.

I stared into those cinder-filled eyes and stopped thinking of the key word. It was useless, pointless, and I wasn’t going to spend my last minutes alive trying to prove Chantrelle wrong when she was in the right.

I would only think of true things, the things that mattered.

I love you. I would burn them all for you, if only I had fire. I would take you away from all this, if I had wings. I love you with everything in me and I only regret that we didn’t have more time. That I didn’t have the will to make it happen.

I hoped he could read that in my eyes. That even without a bond, he had felt a fraction of what I felt for him.

“Are you going to answer?” Chantrelle’s voice had grown shriller than ever.

Our allies had started off strong, unbelieving of her claims—but now they drew back. Disbelief, confusion, and outrage clouded their once-certain expressions.

Doric looked…almost heartbroken. Rhylan had been his closest friend for years, and he had shattered his trust.

Across the Circle, Rhylan slowly shook his head.

Chantrelle exhaled slowly. Her smile returned, eyes bright. “You see? They are not bonded mates! They have no claim to the throne.”

Tyria was shaking her own head, lips turned down with disappointment, but she said nothing.

No one here would speak for us. The Law was clear.

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