“Visions are not proof,” the Caldris judge said calmly. “They show what might be, not what is. To act on them without evidence is reckless.”
“No, this was different–” she began.
The judge raised a hand. “We will now hear testimony from Lord Henry Caldris, if he will speak.”
A rustle in the gallery. Henry rose slowly from the benches, shoulders square, and stepped to a second plinth to Kara’s left. He didn’t look at her.
“You were assigned to the same mission? To retrieve the fugitive, Sebastian Thorne?” the judge asked.
“Yes.”
“And what happened?”
Henry cleared his throat. His voice was clipped, neutral. “Lady Hale carried out the mission with skill and courage. She placed Thorne into an enchanted sleep. He was bound and guarded. I left to gather food. When I returned... she had freed him.”
A louder murmur moved through the room. Heat prickled across Kara’s skin.
“And did she say why?”
“Yes,” Henry said. “She said we didn’t understand. That he wouldn’t hurt us. That he was trying to help Vallenna.”
Merrick leaned in. “And what did he do next?”
Henry’s jaw tightened. “He knocked me unconscious. Tied me with nightshade. By the time I came to... they were gone.”
Kara’s breath caught. Hearing it aloud, reported like that, made it sound worse. Colder.
After you wouldn’t listen to reason. After you blinded me.
She wanted to shout it. But what good would it do? He finally looked at Kara. Something passed between them. A flash of a feeling she couldn’t name. Regret, maybe. Or just pain.
The judge’s voice came again, clear and emotionless. “And is it true that you taught her mind magic, Lord Caldris?”
Henry nodded. “Yes, she was quite gifted at it.”
The judge glanced at her. Then back to Henry.
“And do you believe Lady Hale was acting of her own free will?”
Henry hesitated. His gaze lingered on her before he turned back to the judge.
“Yes,” he said. “I do.”
A ripple of shock swept the chamber.
The judge nodded once. “So noted.”
Kara didn’t move. But inside, she ached.
Her father’s voice cut in sharp and edged with desperation. “Is that true, Karalynna? Did you go with him of your own will, or did Sebastian Thorne force you? Did he threaten you? Tell me. Now. In front of all of them.”
Kara met his gaze. His face was carved from stone, but this was one last chance – the grim hope that she would give him something to work with, something to save her. She hesitated, looking instead towards the gallery. To her mother. She was sitting near the front. Pale dress, pinned hair, hands clasped in her lap. Her tears ran silently down her cheeks,and she didn’t wipe them away. Their eyes met – and her resolve faltered. For a breath, the weight of it nearly crushed her. The shame. The heartbreak. The fear. Her mother’s sorrow hit her harder than all the Council’s accusations combined. She could still lie. Say he had threatened her – it was technically true, though he hadn’t meant a word. It would be easy –he forced me. Used his magic.She could say that she was scared, even now, to speak out against him. They’d spare her. Let her go home. The words were right there. The tip of her tongue.
“He–”
But then she thought of Sebastian.
Fighting his way through Thorne soldiers for her. Bleeding for her. Tied in nightshade in the dark and dragged away so they wouldn’t slit her throat. Him screaming her name.
