I exhaled and was just about to turn around when I heard a door open.
The elevated level that the Council sat on continued around the circular room, much like an auditorium. Above the entrance tunnel were lines of stone seats that looked like medieval bleachers.
Four people had just sat down on them.
Two had faces pinched with worry and fear. Those were my parents.
Marigold had my mom in a half-hug. Very cozy for two people who’d just met this morning, if you asked me. Beside her, Kiki plopped down, looking ready to spit fire.
I could only imagine. The woman hadn’t taken a day off since pre-school, I’d bet.
Dad clearly wanted to speak, to tell me something, but this wasn’t the place or time. Instead, he placed his hand over his heart and nodded at me. His kind face was pinched with concern, and his usually warm brown skin held a grayish tinge that only showed when he was extremely worried.
Tears burned in my throat, but I swallowed them down. That one gesture managed to convey love and never-ending support. See, that was why I never had trouble thinking of Hunter as my real dad. No matter what idiocy I pulled, he always stood by me. He showed me just as much love as Mom ever did, and maybe a sliver more understanding than I deserved.
Mom’s blonde hair was braided hastily, and her slender shoulders were hunched as she clutched Dad’s hand and patted Marigold’s arm.
I had the sudden urge to grab Marigold by her voluminous head of hair and drag her out of the room.
I shook myself, dispelling the fantasy. A part of me knew my dislike of Marigold was unwarranted, but I couldn’t help it. I had no real reason to see the blonde woman as the enemy, especially since she’d always been particularly nice to me.
Yet every time I laid eyes on her, something made my blood boil.
Mom waved at me. Where Marigold’s Cut face did look middle-aged, my parents appeared only a few years older than me.
That was normal in the supe community. But right now, it just reminded me that I wouldn’t ever join my family in immortality.
Once my birthday hit, my magic would either rise up enough to lock me into immortality, or I’d be deemed a mortal. Since I only had one party trick, it was very likely that I’d grow old and die long before Mom got her first laugh line.
She tucked some loose strands of hair hair behind her ears and gave me the same gesture Dad did.
This time, I returned it, making sure both saw me.
When I turned back to face the Council, I noticed that the handsome man had moved to lean against the curved wall, separating himself from Mr. Creed and the lawyer.
I frowned. If he wasn’t part of the defense team, why didn’t he join the audience on the upper level?
I didn’t miss the fact that he was also watching me intently. Except now, I wasn’t so struck by his predatory grace. His elegant stature. His handsome —
I gave myself a mental slap. Okay, maybe I was still struck. But the initial shock was over, and now, I was able to narrow my gaze at him in challenge.
Still, his focused attention didn’t slip from me.
What was his problem?
I turned back to my lawyer and elbowed him. Unfortunately, Roger was still sweating and shuffling papers. “Who is that guy?”
“I’m busy. Very, very busy.”
Classic Roger, I thought wryly, and took a seat in one of the chairs. Maybe if he’d taken that shit at home, he wouldn’t be struggling right now. I rolled my eyes and faced the Council as all nine members stood.
The man in the center, a shifter, stepped forward. His shaved head had a dusting of white hair, almost like he’d been in a gentle snowdrift. I could make out his long, pale lashes from here. His high, aristocratic cheekbones cast harsh shadows in the hollows of his cheeks, giving him an almost-skeletal appearance.
He had a weird look for a shifter, though I had a hard time putting my finger on it. It wasn’t as though he was delicate, but there was a high-brow refinement about him that was normally reserved for the vampires. It set him apart from his colleagues. What kind of creature did he turn into?
His gaze was pure obsidian, and I shivered as it landed on me.
Disgust. Revulsion. Waves of it rolled off of him and struck me in the face.
I sighed. Great. He already didn’t like me.
The man raised his right hand. “Is the party of Aster King II, represented by Union Counsel Member Roger Bowl present?”
Roger’s head snapped up. “Present!”
“Is the party of Derrick Creed, represented by Pack Counsel Member Iridian Morrow present?”
The shifter lawyer’s deep voice echoed in my very soul. “Present.”
Creed and Morrow were both at the table a few feet to my right. Creed was sitting on a chair, looking quite sad. The color was leeched from his skin, leaving a deathly pale-white tone.
A ball of anger roared to life in the pit of my stomach. He’d filled out the stupid form. He’d sent it to the Union, requesting me for that day and time slot. What in the hell had he expected?
A vampire Councilwoman with carrot-red hair rose and handed the Council speaker a paper.
He announced, “The court trial commences for Union / King vs. Creed. I, Councilmember Adair Hayes, have been chosen to lead this trial and list the charges. Miss Aster King II is facing accusations from Mr. Derrick Creed, including and not limited to hoard desolation, acidic disintegration of a licensed warehouse, destruction of personal magical property, unlawful release of an airborne agent, unlawful entry of a private citizen’s home, and the infliction of severe emotional stress upon a private citizen. The monetary value of destruction is approximately 4.7 million dollars’ worth of damage, not including several priceless artifacts and magical heirlooms.
“Furthermore, Miss King has been accused of violently resisting arrest, assaulting and injuring an Officer of the Law, and attempted magical escape from state custody. Among other things. The defense may speak first.”
He returned to his seat. Roger stood.
A mountain couldn’t have moved me from my spot. How did I go from an average, nobody contractor to a felon on trial? All of those charges… this was bad. Egregiously bad.
I hated that my parents were here for this, too. I’d been doing pretty well taking care of myself. No part of me wanted them to think I was incompetent. If I had it my way, I’d be here alone. Taking this beating by myself.
Shame weaved into my fear. I just knew my dad was trying not to cry. Mom was likely thinking of all the ways she could fight the Councilmembers, and then get pissed when she realized she couldn’t.
Gods, this was humiliating. And the fine they were certain to give me wasn’t going to be pretty.
I wrung my hands in my lap. I couldn’t look at the Councilmembers. All of those unsettling eyes on me was too much.
I only had a small pinprick of hope. I’ve heard that the Council does take income into consideration. Maybe they’d give me seven decades of community service.
Roger began my defense. “Ah, yes! Thank you to the court and to the Council. Miss Aster King will speak now.”
“I’ll what?”
Roger sat back down and continued to rustle papers. My jaw was hanging open.
The audacity of this bitch.
I smacked his arm hard enough to make him jump. “Get your act together and defend me,” I hissed.
Roger’s laugh was nervous. “I just need a few more minutes. Just a few. Please explain your side of the story.”