He was right. He had to unfreeze me to do it, and agony poured over me while the old Mage lifted me from them. My mouth opened on silent screams, a flood of tears poured down my cheeks, and my body racked in shivers when every broken bone jarred with the movement. Ezra’s Vampire altered between whimpering and growling as he watched, slowly lowering to his knees and following our movement as Elder Harcourt laid me on my back next to the sphere. The Elder whispered, “Here, help here.” His hand glowed, picking up my arm that wasn’t broken and was closest to Ezra and pushing my hand through the sphere. I jerked as powerful Mage magic zapped me from the contact, but my chest heaved as soon as I felt Ezra’s warm hands grab mine inside the sphere in a tight hold and a heavy dose of tranquillity suffused my body, my eyes meeting his.
“There. Now both of you behave while I do this,” Elder Harcourt murmured, freezing me again as he began healing each of my ailments. There was still no sound coming from my body, but I felt the popping. It didn’t hurt because Ezra held my hand and was beginning to soothingly pet the back of my hand with his other, his furious gaze never leaving mine. Even though it was the enraged Vampire staring at me, I still saw the unconditional love shining from his gaze. His Vampire loved me like my wolf loved him. Minutes later, Elder Harcourt stated, “There we go. You’re all fixed up.”
Unexpectedly, I felt a blast of Mage magic from Elder Harcourt, and I was flying right through Ezra’s sphere, unfrozen and able to speak as I shouted in surprise, my entire body jolting from rolling through the mystical magic of the sphere but no longer hurting, my body healed. Ezra caught me, instantly crushing me to him, standing, and growling at Elder Harcourt while my feet dangled in the air. I blinked in surprise but turned my head to see Elder Harcourt place a glowing hand on the sphere, and it was like time and spells sizzled around us, crackling in the air, as he added his power to the previous Mage’s work, and he stated bluntly, “You won’t be able to get out of this. In fact, you will only hurt yourselves if you try.”
He gestured with his free hand across the room, where I could now see Antonio, Cahal, Elder Jacobs, and Elder Merrick inside a large golden sphere high in the air near our broken door. Antonio was lying on the bottom of it, unconscious, while the three of his four — not frozen or mute — hovered around him protectively, silently watching us. “If he couldn’t get them out of my spell, neither will you two, and it would be in your best interests to be conscious while I conduct this trial.”
I stilled inside Ezra’s hold at the reminder.
Elder Harcourt flicked his free hand, and suddenly, Pearl’s and Jack’s spheres flew at ours, colliding to make one so that all of us were together, Jack and Pearl also now unfrozen and able to speak. Jack instantly grabbed Pearl’s hand, yanking her behind him while he shouted, “Why the fuck weren’t we told this new Law had passed? Hell, we weren’t even included in the voting. We are the damn Kings and Queens. We should have had to sign off on it.”
Oh, good point. “It shouldn’t be valid now,” I shook my head, pushing to break free of Ezra’s hold so I could talk unhindered, “No Law can be passed without our signatures.”
Ezra’s grip on me only tightened, stopping my squirming, as he growled, “Not in times of war.” He met my startled gaze firmly, his Vampire receding so that it was the man, Ezra, who continued speaking. “In times of war, or possible war, emergency Laws can be issued as long as twelve Elders approve it over the majority voting.”
I blinked, slowly realizing he was correct. When a war was approaching, or at hand, not all of the Elders or Kings and Queens could sit together to make discussions as a whole, therefore, when what Ezra stated occurred, the Law was passed. Hope flying out the window in a brutal rush, I sighed shakily, but nodded, holding Ezra’s desolate gaze, and asked Elder Harcourt, “I’m not being charged with anything else?”
Elder Harcourt chuckled. “Why do you think I silenced everyone? That idiot almost did charge you, but he wasn’t able to finish it. If he had, I would currently be spellbound to conduct the trial, and you would already be dead. That isn’t going to happen over Elder,” he muttered something quietly, “Talus’s much needed death.”
Elder Harcourt flicked his free hand. “Sleep.” Abruptly, every enforcer in the room dropped to the ground with silent thuds, completely dead asleep. The only individuals still conscious were those inside the spheres, even Antonio was starting to stir where he lay. Elder Harcourt cleared his throat, ignoring the fact he had just made forty powerful Mysticals defenseless. “And if he would have attempted to charge you for the…speed…he saw you use when you killed Elder Talus, that wouldn’t have held up because our Law strictly states that hybrids are to be killed at birth. You, my dear, Queen Ruckler, are long past birth.” I blinked, realizing…loopholes…he was talking about loopholes. “But that doesn’t mean Laws can’t be altered if he remembers. I certainly wouldn’t want that because you will be an amazing Ruler one day soon.”