Page 38 of Wrath's Call

It was when we had finished our first course - a salad of sliced strawberries and almonds laid over a bed of wild greens topped with gorgonzola and a balsamic dressing - that the doors to the hall were thrown wide, crashing into the columns that framed them.

Leading the entrants was an angry man who bore a bright red suit jacket and black pinstripe pants - a uniform of sorts for the Boralis guild, suggesting the man had to be Ambassador Kingston. SisterElenna entered followed by a retinue of others, including Sister Cara, Lord Harseth, Corbin and a row of Sentori guards whose uniformed steps echoed throughout the hall.

“Is that her?” Ambassador Kingston seethed, lifting his hand to point directly at me. He continued to move forward, and I stood, spinning to avoid his anger just as the strong arm of Lord Harseth stopped him in place. “Is that the one who killed my nephew?”

I blinked and stepped back to avoid the seething hatred I could feel wafting from him in waves. I didn’t need any empathic abilities to be able to understand this man’s fury, it was written in the angles of his face and the way his throat bobbed beneath his black bow tie. I shuttered myself against the powerful emotions emanating throughout the room, as hushed voices began speculating which combatants had died.

“May I remind you nothing has been determined yet,” Sister Elenna asserted, her tone remaining placatingly neutral. Her hands remained poised in front of her, folded into the wide trailing sleeves of her robes. “The boy’s injuries were extremely severe.”

“Bah,” the ambassador waved a hand above his head, spinning as he ran a wrinkled hand through his dimensionless golden curls, which must have come from a bottle. “He should have lived. He killed the beast! He won the trial!”

I studied the ambassador closer, noticing a faint resemblance between him and one of the candidates. His strong pointed jaw and angled cheekbones left his cheeks with a subtle sunken look that reminded me of Acton. If that hadn’t been enough to confirm his relation to the humility caster, Acton’s name certainly would - a bastard name that combined the name Fitz meaning “son of”, and Kingston.

The ambassador moved forward again, waving an angry hand at me, “And worst yet, the other one lived who was in much worse shape! Explain this!” Spittle flew across the room landing just below my chin. Disgusting. I wiped it away with the back of my hand and rubbed it along my short black cocktail dress that ended just above my knees.

“I healed her as was asked,” Penny said timidly from the other end of the hall, her subtle mousy features tucking quietly into the crowd. “That…that’s why she lives.”

The Ambassador gave his back to me as he turned his accusatory gaze back on Sister Cara. “Why did you not assign that girl to my nephew?” he seethed. “Is your judgment so poor?”

Sister Cara raised her chin. “My judgment is not in question here. Miss Ryans has never before lost a patient and has received only the most exemplary reviews from her internship. Her coven was most aggrieved to lose her. And Miss Hawthorn’s survival is a tenement to Miss Arison’s skills, nothing else.”

Holy Shit. Ness was alive. This had to be a dream. Ness. Was. Alive.

I was going to murder her for putting me through this. Literally. With a knife. Or maybe something blunt, it would hurt more.

Ah, who the hell cares? Ness was alive. Until I killed her that was.

Yup, that was just what I should be thinking about while being accused of murder. I swear I could be facing down a high-speed train and would still bend down because OOO SHINY NICKEL! I was coming closer and closer to that Darwin award at the moment.

“Bah,” the man cursed again, “she probably had little more than splinters around here. Acton is dead, and frankly sister, you should be held just as accountable.”

I found my voice, rising above the commotion. “What do you mean Acton’s dead? I healed him.”

“Clearly not enough,” the angry voice resonated. “You abandoned your charge and left him to die. And now your roommate is alive? I think you abandoned Acton to fix that woman. You let a winner die to fix a loser.”

“With all due respect, Ambassador,” Penny’s soft voice was clear despite her trepidation. “But no one was there but me. I healed Ness on my own.”

Sister Cara’s expression softened, her normally stern gaze holding a warmth for the tender-hearted woman. “And I can see that it exhausted you greatly. You look drained. Perhaps you should return to your rest before tomorrow’s healer trial.”

“I’m not done with her!” the ambassador screeched. “She could be covering for this one!” He waved his finger back and forth between Penny and me.

“I healed Acton,” I punctuated my voice. I could feel the entity within me rise and it took everything I had to keep my hands from glowing. “And even if I hadn’t, weren’t you the one who came up with the trial in the first place?”

That had been the wrong thing to say. Kingston struck in a swift burst of movement, my face ricocheted to the side as pain radiated up my cheek. Had I really just been backhanded? “Impertinent welp!”

The entity deep inside me froze - but not in fear.

“Ambassador Kingston, contain yourself!” Sister Cara demanded, as one of Sentori guards pulled the ambassador back.

A growl reverberated through me. Behind the crowd I caught sight of Marik, his fists clenched as he entered the chamber behind Felix. The whites of his eyes began to bleed to black, as his demon breached the surface of his consciousness.

Are you alright?Marik’s mental voice was layered as if two voices spoke as one.

I’m okay.I replied, the stinging in my face taking a back seat to the pounding in my head.

He hurt you.

No shit. I replied back sarcastically.But I’m fine. It was just a slap.

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