Page 16 of House of Mages and Raven

“Just go with the flow and don’t talk more than necessary,” Cassius said. “It should be over in a few hours, and then we can all return to our house in Shades Academy.”

“And sleep in our own beds,” Rock added.

I cracked an amiable smile. “I like to sleep in my own bed too, especially when the mattress is soft and comfortable.”

Cassius led us along a long corridor. We made a few turns and reached a splendid hall, the violet marble floor spotless, the ceiling stretching so high that I had to crane my neck to check out the paintings. Twelve balcony seatings formed a crescent ring on the high-floor gallery. Two thrones rested on the raised dais on the ground floor, the symbol of seven arrows in a radial pattern etched on their high backs and blue diamonds adorning their armrests.

Other than a dozen royal guards lined up on either side of the walls, the throne hall appeared mostly empty.

“Keep going, Barbie,” Cassius said as he fell back.

“Where are you guys going?” I looked over my shoulder and noticed that Cassius and Rock were moving to join the royal guards. The rest of the escort team hadn’t even followed us into the throne hall. “Where is everyone?”

No one answered me. I was all alone.

Panic rushed over me, but I’d look bad if I chickened out and ran now. I took a deep breath and kept going until I stopped in the center of the hall.

“Knock, knock,” I called, and waited. When no one answered, I did it for them. “Who’s there?”

“Silence!” a harsh male voice barked.

A religious-looking man in a violet robe emerged from the left-hand door near the dais. That door must be reserved for the royals and their court herald, like this one. Two younger attendants, one female and one male, followed him. The young male had a scroll and a magical pen in his hands, and female held a spelled watch.

“Sure,” I said, flashing the herald and hisacolytes a smile. I fell silent for a few seconds before I remembered my manners. “How’s everyone? I was testing the sound effect to see if my voice would carry. It did. This place is huge. It must cost a ton to maintain a castle. Just think of the electricity bill, man.”

“You shall not speak until spoken to, girl!” he ordered me.

“No problem,” I said. “Everyone told me that already. Even today, the headmistress strongly suggested it. Then Werewolf Rock confirmed it, and then even Lord Silent Blade insisted on it. Well, don’t you worry. I got the picture. I’ve had practice in Shades Academy, a good school. Food is superb. By the way, I have a couple of quick questions before I go into silent mode. The first question is, where should I place myself in this big, fancy room? Is this a throne room or an audience room? My second question, is there a seat for me if it’s going to be a long trial? I don’t want to sound like a whiner, but gods forbid it be long, not that gods are that nice. I hope it’ll be less than three hours. Isn’t it nice that we can all sleep in our own beds tonight? Anyway, I just don’t want anything to go wrong. You know what I mean? It’s crucial to follow protocol.” I gave the herald another convincing smile. “Are you a herald? In a mortal court, you’d be called a clerk. I can call you officer if you want.”

He stared at me as if I had two heads. Well, I did, if he counted Sy. His PAs stared at me in confusion. The herald pulled an ivory arrow from inside his robe, and both of his PAs stepped back a pace. I squinted to study the arrow. Shit, it was madeof an ancient serpent’s bone. The herald flicked the bone, and a fiery ring dropped around me and trapped me within.

I yelped, staring at the herald. “What did you do that for?”

“Accused, stay where you are,” the herald ordered me in a scratching voice. “Step out of the sacred circle and the magic will burn you alive.”

He didn’t know, or probably didn’t believe, that I could eat wards like candies and dismiss all spells, except for my father’s or the spells on artifacts forged in celestial realms, like the torque and chains that had once bound me.

“No worries. I’ll stay right here,” I said, playing meek for now. “But when will everyone get here? I don’t have all day. I’ll need to get back to the academy to finish my homework.”

The herald glared at me, then he snapped his head toward the entrance as well-dressed courtiers and nobles followed the attendants and strolled in. Then those important supernaturals seated themselves in the audience seats along one wall. I spotted Headmistress Ethel among them, her chin lifting, her gaze sharp and unforgiving as it landed on me. I waved at her with a shy smile, but she didn’t return either gesture. She looked even more pissed.

It was hustle and bustle all around the hall. Then two women and three men filled five of the twelve balcony seats in the gallery. I bet they were the Council members, each representing their own house.

“All rise for the sovereigns!” the herald barked, his booming voice rolling over the hall.

The king and queen of Kingdom of Chaos emerged and perched on their thrones on the dais. They wore matching diamond crowns with the symbol of seven arrows in a radial pattern curved around the golden bands.

Everyone rose to their feet to pay respect to the king and queen. I was already standing within the warded circle, so Ishifted my weight from foot to foot, since I didn’t want my feet to fall asleep.

King Vasiliy was a towering figure with a thick neck and broad shoulders. Killian didn’t resemble his father, except that they both carried a cold demeanor, but Killian’s coldness was on the ruthless side while his father was more calculating and crueler. The king regarded me as if I were prey, but I sensed the limitation of his elemental magic. He couldn’t hold a candle to his son’s power. I bet he knew it too and wasn’t happy about it.

Occupying the other throne, Queen Odette stared at me with pure hatred in her big cornflower-blue eyes, a pit of snakes hissing in her reddish hair. I could tell that she wanted to cross the space in one leap and tear my head off. She was only biding her time. The icy confidence in her glare spelled out her plan to inflict slow, agonizing death on me after the trial was over with my being convicted.

The queen might be Medusa’s descendant, but her power was nowhere near that of Kilian’s mother, who was Hades and Persephone’s daughter. I wondered what Killian’s father saw in her, but then, men were stupid when they thought with their dicks. Maybe the king liked an adult doll. The queen’s huge boobs nearly popped out of her tight red gown, in stark contrast to her tiny waist. The heels of her dress shoes were nine inches. It was painful to watch her.

“We’re honored that the sovereigns from all kingdoms are joining the court of Kingdom of Chaos to witness this murder trial.” The herald raised the serpent bone into the air. “Welcome, Queen Melissa of Kingdom of Shifters! King Malik of Kingdom of Vampires! King Emyr of Kingdom of Fae! King Brandon of Kingdom of Mages!”

As soon as he made each announcement, the kings and queens from the other kingdoms projected their holographic images to the gallery, and now ten of the twelve balconyseats were taken. It was safer for the monarchs from other kingdoms to attend the hearing as astral projections and leave no opportunity for an assassination.

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