Page 111 of Until the End of Ever
I sent the same one to Gideon, Silver, Ronan, Lucky, and after consideration, my mother.
Me: Kleos is at the manor. I'm called to the Guard under ludicrous charges. Donotlet her come to me.
My brother was the only one to receive a different message.
Me: Looks like I'm in need of a competent politician. You know any?
To my surprise, Rupert,Lawrence,and their goons didn't lead me towards the Guard once we'd reached the vale, but directly towards the chambers adjacent to the forum where the magistrates met. I wasn't to be questioned, then. Just immediately judged.That worked for me. The sooner it was over, the sooner I could return to Kleos. And potentially, to chocolate cake.
They left me alone,Lawrence and Rupert guarding the open door. I wondered if they expected me to walk out. I could, and neither of these protectors would have the power to stop me.I knew the rules of this game. The council had the right to call me to account for my actions. Not letting them do so was an actual offense they could and would punish me for.
“I should have brought a book,” I muttered.
I had my notebook in my breast pocket, so instead I returned to my journaling, recording the turmoil of Charybdis.
As I wrote, I paused to wonder whether the bitch faked her demise in order to attempt to get Kleos out of the manor. If she was truly dead, I needed to send flowers to whoever had rid us of her.
I was still musing when a familiar, hurried footstep caught my attention. The next moment, dressed in full regalia of blueand gold, his long hair tied at the nape of his neck, my brother stormed inside.
“You fucking idiot,” he snarled.
I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t kill the bitch. Not yet. I was going to ask for the permission of the elders, first.”
I knew better than to attack a member of the council without backing.
Damian narrowed his eyes. Little as we might like each other, my brother knew me well enough to realize I didn’t lie. “Talk.”
So, I ran through the current affairs in broad lines, from Kleos’s rune to the murder, fast-forwarding through most of the details to finally conclude, “Then I sent you to the Guard to check on her, and Ronan, to her home. She came back to me shortly after.”
My brother started to pace the room, silently. “So, there was no one with you to corroborate your whereabouts after you sent us out.”
I sighed. “Cassius must have been in his hall.”
“Do you truly believe anyone would take Cassius’s word?”
Fair point.
"I don't think you understand,” Damian hissed between clenched teeth. “Each side of the council can vote, and if they disagree, the matter is brought to the magistrates. But theywon'tdisagree. They’re going to judge you guilty.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but he held his hand up to silence me.
“As you're the accused, and your crime is one that a Regiscanbe found guilty of, your family has to recuse themselves. That's me and Grandma, unable to vote. Even if the rest of the founders vote for your innocence—which they will—you won't have a fullquorum, which means that the elders’ votewon'tcount. The ruling council could condemn you, and sentence you without trials."
I let his words sink in.Fuck.
"They'll vote to kill me."
The first, last, and only thing that came to mind as that fact hit was Kleos. The soulmate I’d just bound to my fate.
Because of my foolishness, my selfishness, she could die along with me.
48
KLEOS
“That’s preposterous. Outrageous!” I seethed, unable to stay still for one minute in the kitchen.
Everyone else was seated around the table, which was still cracked from Lucky and Cassius’s contest, but I kept moving around.
