I would have only one shot at this, and I knew it. With my mouth pressed in a tight, thin line, I bit back on the whimpers that filled my mouth.
I let Beth drive me down the hall and into the main courtroom with towering ceilings and enough seating for three hundred people. Not that there were that many people in it, but there were enough. Mostly vampires, but I saw Tad and Yaya up at the front, confirming my worst fears. Dahlia sat to one side of Tad, and their eyes . . . they glared at me before looking away. As if I truly were the monster. Shaking, I tried to get their attention, staring hard at them. But they wouldn’t meet my eyes.
At the front of the room, Judge Watts sat in his chair, towering over everyone. His face was white, pale with fear, and sweat slid freely down his wobbly cheeks.
Theseus strode to the base of Judge Watts’s podium. “Thank you all for coming. I like things to be as fair and judicial as possible. I am not some random hero, some killer that will take to the streets and cause mob justice. No, as you can see by those I’ve gathered here, I am friend to all those who would be my friend. And enemy to those that would do harm to the world.”
What was he doing? I rubbed the back of my left hand on a bench in a vain attempt to get the oil off but only succeeded in spreading it over my hand more. I whimpered, the heat and pain taking my focus off what was happening. I forced myself to look around, to see what I could use, to see if there was anyone who would be on my side. Everyone who was in the room stared at Theseus as though he were indeed a god. Including Tad and Dahlia. Even Roger and Barbie were there, dumbstruck as they stared at Theseus. What surprised me the most, though, was Merlin. He stood to the side, nearest to Roger. He frowned as he watched Theseus speak, his brows drawn low over his hawk nose.
Then there was Yaya. Her eyes were glued to me as she mouthed Remo’s name. I shook my head ever so slightly. I didn’t know where he was; I mean, he was here somewhere, but that didn’t help. The last thing I wanted was for both of us to be trapped.
There was a struggle behind me, the thumping of feet and bodies, a snarl, and then that small hope died. Remo was strung up between four vampires and dragged into the room, then tossed at my feet. I helped him stand up. He was bruised and battered, but he wasn’t hurt badly.
“You okay?” he murmured, touching my face gently. I shook my head.
“Oil.” I held my hand up, showing him where the oil had sunk in, opening me right up.
He took my hand and raised it to his mouth, suctioning onto the wound, licking the oil off. He grimaced, and I felt him draw some of my blood into his mouth. I gave him the barest of nods to keep going. With my blood racing through his veins, giving him strength and power like no other vampire alive, we might have a chance. Maybe.
We were jerked apart. Theseus pointed at me. “You see, she has him bowing at her feet. She is a siren of the evilest kind, one that preys on men. Even the undead follow her.”
I rolled my eyes, fighting the pain in order to speak levelly. “Is this for real? Are you actually presenting a case to the judge to decide if you should try and kill me or not?”
Theseus smiled, his back to the judge. “You wanted the law to claim you exist. If you exist, then you can be judged, you can be tried, and you can be executed.”
Anger flared in my gut. “You can’t do this!”
Theseus shrugged. “Your Honor, do I have your go-ahead to present my case? Of course, if you disagree, we can always find someone else.” The threat was obvious. They would kill Watts if they didn’t like his answer.
The judge nodded, his eyes wary and the tension in his shoulders obvious. “Do it. Prove she is guilty.”
I took a step back, and my leg with the oil burning through it buckled. I went to one knee as Theseus spoke. “I have witnesses that the Drakaina attempted to poison her family.”
One by one my cousins, Samantha and Everett, and Aunt Janice and Uncle Robert stepped through the crowd and up to the base of the podium. They spoke about the sickness I’d caused, that by my own admission I’d claimed it was not an accident at all that my venom had gone into the cupcake frosting. They spoke about my callous words. “She said she didn’t give a shit about us,” Samantha snapped, her eyes glittering as they landed on me.
“I would never say that! I don’t curse!” I yelled back. I mean, it wasn’t like this was a real court proceeding. I certainly wasn’t going to play by the rules.
Samantha shrugged. “That’s what I heard.”
The judge wrote something down.
The one that hurt, though, was Tad as he stood up and gave his account, Dahlia clinging to his hand in support. Neither of them would look at me.
“I thought she was my sister still, that being turned hadn’t changed her. But the truth of it is, she is a monster. A killer who would prey on anyone weaker than herself. Including her family.”
“Those cupcakes weren’t for you!” I stood and realized I was about to back myself into a corner.
“Who were they for, then?” Theseus asked, his eyes narrowing.
I struggled with the words. “For Merlin. He . . . was coming to defend Roger.” Oh, God, I knew the words were bad.
Remo groaned. “Not the time to be honest, love.”
The judge stood up and slammed his gavel on the bench. “Is that all the witnesses?”
Merlin cleared his throat. “I do believe I should have some say in this, since I was the target of Ms. Budrene’s devilishly good cupcakes.”
Remo shifted so he stood just a little bit in front of me. I put a hand on him. “No.”
He muscles tensed, but he stepped back. Whatever Merlin had up his sleeve, I would deal with him.
Yaya gave me an encouraging smile.
Merlin gave me a wink. That did not make me feel better after our last conversation.
He strode across the floor, pacing slowly. “I do believe a family feud is something that should be left within families. And while Alena’s family was caught in the crosshairs, it should be no skin off your nose, Your Honor, if she hurts other supernaturals. All those speaking today are such. Correct?”
The judge whipped around to stare at my cousins, aunt, and uncle, along with Tad. Slowly, they all nodded.
The judge rolled his eyes. “Good God. I don’t want anything to do with supernatural infighting. Go back to your side of the Wall, and what you do there, keep it there. Case dismissed.”
Theseus gaped at him, and I took a step back while he spluttered, “But that isn’t fair. She’s a monster. My case is airtight! I have been planning this for weeks!”
Now that was interesting. Weeks would mean he’d been around before Achilles and I had had our fight. So he’d just let another hero take a fall?