Sighing, I turned away from my friends, knowing that looking at them would only make me more anxious. Instead, I glanced down at my shackles, and my heart plummeted at the sight of the shimmering runes carved into the iron. I’d seen such runes used once before on a mage, in order to restrain his magic.
So much for trying to take the executioner down with you.
Finally, the Captain stopped shuffling his papers around and looked down at me. He was a commanding figure, with close-cropped steel hair and a matching beard covering his square jaw. His broad shoulders looked as if they bore the weight of command well enough – which they had before he’d let the Main Crew turn everything to shit. Nevertheless, my heart sank at the look of disappointment that flickered briefly in his dark eyes before hardening.
As the moment passed he called the room to order, then turned toward the prosecutor’s bench. “Deputy Talcon, do you have the list of charges?”
“I do indeed,” Talcon said, rising from his seat. He was dressed in a neatly pressed dark suit, which made me feel inadequate since my hair was a rat’s nest and I was still dressed in yesterday’s clothes.
“Sunaya Baine has been called before this court today on the charges of possessing magic without a license, and of using magic without a license to kill a shifter. These charges are substantiated by witness statements.” I gritted my teeth at his smug tone.
“May I see the statements, please?”
“Of course.” Talcon handed a sheaf of papers to Captain Galling.
Captain Galling read the statements out loud. They were from Brin and Nila. My embarrassment was eclipsed by simmering rage that grew with every word. The bastards hadn’t bothered to show up on time to save those bunnies, but they didn’t have any problem burying me for doing so. Magorah help me, but did they have no sense of decency at all?
“Well?” Galling asked when he’d finished reading the statements. “Do you have anything to say in your defense, Miss Baine?”
I bit back the scathing remark I wanted to say and cleared my throat. “Yes, Captain.” My voice was surprisingly steady despite the adrenaline pumping through my veins. “I’d like to point out that I was wearing a protective amulet on my wrist during the attack. Its magic must have activated in response to the rhino shifter’s attempt to kill me. That is far more logical than the idea that I killed the rhino myself.”
“That’s a very good story,” Director Chartis drawled, drawing my attention toward him. His dark green eyes, which matched the robes he was wearing, assessed me lazily, almost as if he couldn’t be bothered with prosecuting me. Nevertheless, he somehow found the energy to press on. “But unfortunately it does not match the evidence. I tested the amulet myself yesterday, and it held no traces of recent magical residue.” He drew the amulet out of his sleeve, and I gritted my teeth as he dangled it tauntingly at me. “I’m afraid that means, in plain language, that it hasn’t been used recently.”
A murmur spread through the crowd and fear crackled through me like a live current. So much for my shitty cover story.
“Besides,” the Director continued, “the amount of magic required to disintegrate a rhino shifter would have reduced an amulet of this size and strength to ash. As you can all see, it’s quite intact.”
“Alright, settle down, settle down,” the Captain ordered the room. He looked down at me wearily. “I’m afraid that unless you have anything more to say in your defense, I’m going to have to convict you of using illegal magic.”
“The penalty of which,” the Director reminded the room, as if he needed to, “is death.”
The Captain hesitated. “I think under the circumstances we should be able to reduce it to hard labor in the mines, don’t you think? It was self-defense, after all.”
The Director shook his head. “Whether or not it was self-defense is completely irrelevant,” he said dispassionately. “The death penalty is mandatory in such cases, especially since the accused is too old to be trained. She cannot be allowed to run amuck with her magic unchecked.”
Rage boiled up inside me so fast I swore steam came out of my ears. How dare this man stand there and dismiss my life so casually, as if I were a rabid dog that needed to be put down! I opened my mouth to rip him a new one, but I was cut off by a voice in the back.
“Captain Galling, I would like permission to speak.”
The sound of rustling fabric filled the air as everyone, including me, turned around to see Comenius standing in the gallery, his jaw set, determination gleaming in his cornflower blue eyes. The Director and Talcon began to protest at the same time, but Captain Galling held up his hand for silence.
“Speak,” he commanded.