Page 108 of Rise of a Fallen Man

Lifting her reading glasses up to her forehead, Lady Etah gave me a chilling look.

“I beg your pardon, Your Highness, but we didn’t gather here this morning to pass judgement onyourbehavior.”

“But why not?” I argued. “After all, it takes two to have an affair, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t I be sitting there, next to him?”

“Aniri,” Mother intervened in the firm voice of a parent imploring her child to behave.

But I hadn’t been a child for a long time now, and this wasn’t a child’s play. Salas’s life was at stake.

“Once again, Your Highness,” Lady Etah insisted, “the council is not judging your personal involvement in this case. We all make mistakes occasionally. Clearly, this vile man saw a young woman of high standing with a bright future ahead of her and took advantage—”

“And there it is.” I raised a finger in the air. “The only reason you spared me from a trial is because I am a woman and of high standing. Anyone else would’ve been right there, judged with him. You’re concerned about my bright future. But what about his future? His life? If men and women are equal—”

Lady Etah shook her head.

“But they’re not, Your Highness. Men and women are not the same and never were. Goddess put a man below a woman to serve, protect, and obey her, and she did it for a reason. Only when men know their place can our queendom prosper.”

Salas’s crime wasn’t his relationship with me. It wasn’t even the deceit that he was charged with. He dared defy the norms. Now, his mere existence threatened the established order, and as such, he lost his right to exist.

Lady Etah ran a hand over her silver hair pulled into a high up-do. “We gathered here today to reach a verdict on the matter at hand. Only the accused himself or his defender can speak on his behalf. And since Your Highness is not his defender, I suggest—”

Salas cleared his throat unexpectedly. Pushing with his hands into the arms of his chair, he rose heavily.

“I’ll speak,” he said.

His voice was rough. He winced when he tried to swallow. His throat must be dry. His gaze still seemed slightly unfocusedand his stance unsteady, but he squared his shoulders with determination.

Lady Etah waved at him to sit down. “Your defender has already presented your case. I fear you lack the education and credentials to add anything of substance to your case.”

“You said I could speak. That’s the law, is it not?” he glanced my way for confirmation.

I nodded quickly.

“Everyone has the right to defend themselves in the court of law,” I said firmly, then turned to the guards. “Can Salas have some water, please?”

I’d defend him until I ran out of breath, until my voice broke, and my brain fogged from exhaustion. I would use my dagger to draw blood without hesitation too. But Salas had a voice of his own. All his life, he’d been silenced. Now was his chance to be heard.

“The deeply esteemed ladies of the royal council,” Salas moved his gaze from one face to another along the semi-circle of seats, “Your Highness...” His rough voice warmed a little when his eyes paused on me. “Your Majesty.” He bowed his head to Mother. “If you wanted me to think about my life choices, you didn’t need to bother imprisoning me. Goddess knows that most of my life, I’ve been doing exactly that. I’ve been thinking about the choices I’ve made when I had any choice at all.”

A young male clerk in a tight purple uniform with crisp white collar and cuffs trotted in with a glass of water and handed it to Salas, then waited until Salas hungrily emptied the glass before taking it from him and leaving the room.

“May I take you through those choices with me, ladies?” Salas asked.

A murmur rolled through the council.

Lady Etah furrowed her forehead. “I don’t see how it’s...”

Salas explained before she could stop him, “You are all wise, highly educated women. So maybe you could tell me where I went wrong?” He paused, but no one interrupted him this time. “You see, my mother died when I was twelve. It devastated our family and left my father and me homeless. I believe her death marked the beginning of my misfortunes. However, you must agree, I have no control over the matters of life and death. The blame for her illness and death lies only with the gods.”

The councilors shifted in their seats while Salas continued.

“Many would say I was fortunate that a highborn lady took me in. And at the beginning, I thought myself lucky too. But the lady was the one who took my innocence—”

“Now...” Lady Wal waved a hand nervously. “We really don’t need to know the details.”

“You don’t want to.” Salas nodded. “Speaking of sex makes people uncomfortable, doesn’t it? I know what it’s like. No one speaks of what happens between a man and a woman. No one taught me about sex, either. I was too young to know about such things they would say, even when I was already doing all those things with the lady. Maybe if I had any prior knowledge on the subject, I would’ve been better prepared to deal with her advances. I was told to stay away from girls. But no one taught me that the real danger could come from an older, powerful woman of high standing. No one taught me how to say no to someone lauded as my benefactor, someone I was supposed to be grateful to and obey her every word.”

I drew in a shaky breath, clutching my hands tighter. Salas had been open with me about his past, but I could only imagine what it must be costing him to speak about it this frankly to a room full of strangers. It took a different kind of strength, one that I didn’t think I possessed.

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