I shook my head. When I’d been five summers old, my guardian had presented me before the courts in Mistvale. But I’d been a child. Different measures had been used to bring me before the justices who had ultimately ruled to allow my enslavement. I’d never been subjected to the courts’ wards before.
My jailer smirked. “Be warned, the wards have now cataloged your identity and internal magic. Even with a strong glamour or illusion, you’ll never be able to fool the realm’s courts. The magic is too ancient and too strong.” The kingsfae nodded toward a row of desks near the wall on our right. “Processing is over there. Follow me.”
A dozen fae sat on chairs behind their desks. Six other fae were being processed at different stations. Of them, five were males, but there was one female. Angry expressions covered most of their faces, but some looked as scared as I felt. And it wasn’t lost on me that all of them wore cuffs.
I rubbed my wrists and wondered if those would eventually be placed on me.
Raising my chin, I did my best to quell my unease, but despite searching every corner of this admittance area, there was no sign of Jax, his friends, or my guardian. But I still felt Jax. Our bond perpetually connected us. He was alive, his confidence steady, but he wasn’t near me. At least, I didn’t think he was.
Across the wide hall, other kingsfae stood in small groups, talking with each other. The kingsfae socializing all looked at ease, and I realized this was just another day’s work for them, while my entire realm was crashing down.
My breaths grew more rapid, and the earlier feeling of panic began to encroach upon my resolve, but I took a deep breath and ordered myself to stay calm.
“How long do you suppose this will take?” I asked the kingsfae as he marched me toward an empty desk.
He shrugged. “That depends upon how much you tell us.”
“I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“I don’t assume you have, and hopefully neither has the prince, his guards, or the other nobles being accused of these heinous crimes, but until we can clear this matter up, it’s our due diligence to thoroughly assess all accusations.”
He stopped before the desk. Behind it, a siltenite male, wearing dark trousers and a silk button-up shirt, looked up at me from behind spectacles. “Name?”
“This is Elowen Emerson from Faewood,” the kingsfae replied. “Brought in for questioning.”
The male nodded toward a crystal sphere at the edge of his desk. “Place your palm upon that.”
I did as he said, and the magical sphere’s power lashed around me, holding my hand in place.
A ledger waited open before the male, and my name, address, and why I’d been brought to the courts appeared across it, being scrawled in elegant writing.
Once all of my information was cataloged, the male looked at the kingsfae. “No charges? Questioning only?”
My jailer clasped his hand around my elbow. “Correct. There have been accusations made against the prince, and she’s part of it.”
The attendant’s eyes grew wide, looking even bigger behind his spectacles. He leaned forward and hissed, “I heard whisperings that royalty was on their way, but I assumed it was rumors.”
On their way.I had to visibly keep my breaths calm. That likely meant Jax wasn’t here yet.
The kingsfae shook his head, his voice dipping, “‘Tis not rumors. They’ll be processed as well.”
The male nodded briskly. “Good to know. We’re done here.”
The kingsfae led me away, toward the hall’s back corner, and I walked steadily at his side, his meaty hand still around my elbow. “What are you going to do with the prince and his friends?”
He grunted. “That’s none of your concern.”
He marched me down the hall. Doors, spaced only a body length apart, lined each side of it. Wailing, shouting, and a few sobs could be heard behind the closed doors we passed.
Stomach flipping, I begrudgingly followed him into an empty room.
“Sit.” He pointed at the lone chair behind a table. Across from it, two unoccupied seats waited.
I did as I was told and settled my gown around me. Shoulders back, I kept my spine in a rigid line as I waited for whatever was to come.
The kingsfae moved to the corner of the room and stood stoically. Minutes later, two more fae bustled through the door.
I started at their abrupt arrival. A male and female, both wearing professional-looking clothes, appeared as no-nonsense siltenites. Without so much as a greeting, they pulled out the chairs across from me and sat.
