Sucking in a breath, I held it. I hoped that wasn’t the only option we had. Despite Amelia disavowing her mother, she still loved her and wouldn’t be prepared to allow her to be killed. I suspected, like I was, that she was holding on to a tendril of hope that Vina would find her humanity and change. It was a seed of hope, but I hoped it would turn into more.
“Bavelon, they’re your governing body?” I speculated.
“Yes.”
“Are they reasonable?”
He made another sound, and this time I wasn’t going to let it go. I didn’t respond to his nudge to keep me in place and turned to face him. “I don’t know what that means.”
“As a collective, they are magically stronger and are responsible for our fate. They make the determination of life and death. I don’t believe they are power hungry, but they do possess an often-uncompromising belief in our role in the Umbryth. Justice is judged based on perspective,” he said. “If I am sentenced to death, Sayier and Larkin will consider it unjust, because I’m their sibling and deserve leniency. But others who are familiar with me may believe I’ve been given mercy too often and death would be a just end.”
He looked down at me and whatever he saw placed a small smile on his face. He leaned down and kissed the tip of my nose. “Do you have any other questions?”
I had a million and none. Watching as his eyes grew heavy, I had no idea how to feel. How could he sleep when his life was on the line? His ease should have pushed me into relaxing, but I felt like I had to worry for both of us.
“Why do you believe worrying about this will change anything?” he whispered.
Pressing my lips together, I pushed back my recommendation for us to establish an exit plan if he didn’t get a favorable sentence.
“Can you appeal if you’re found guilty?”
“This isn’t a trial to determine my guilt. I’m guilty. It’s a hearing to determine the penalty.”
His eyes fluttered even more, and he let them close. “Sleep,” he urged softly. When he gave me some space, I rolled over onto my back and pressed into his chest, the heat of his body warming me, and stared into the darkness, knowing that sleep wouldn’t come as easily for me as it had for him.
Awakened by pounding on the door, I found Cirrian looking at me. His eyes slowly ran over my face. Searching. Maybe assessing.
“How long have you been awake?” I asked.
He grunted a non-answer. Before I could ask anything else, a tray slid through a door I had missed earlier. Cirrian pressed his lips to my forehead and sat up.
“Morning.” He stretched, getting out of bed. Deep in the depths of the building, there weren’t indicators that it was morning except for the stale taste in my mouth.
He nudged his head toward a door where I quickly went to find a modest bathroom. Like the bedroom, it was nicer than expected. A small shower, a pedestal sink, toiletries, and a small stack of towels. Quickly washing up, I used the mint paste to remove the staleness.
Once I was done, he started for the bathroom but stopped mid-trek at the knock on the door.
“She needs to leave, Cirrian,” Sayier’s coarse voice provided. “I’m opening the door. Don’t make me retrieve her.”
He leveled a cruel glare at the door that felt like the precursor to words that would only make the situation worse.
“I’ll come back later today,” I rushed out. His eyes stayed on the door, but he nodded. His lips were pressed into a severe line and his wave had a finality to it that I didn’t like.
“How long is the stay?” I asked.
“Three days.” Whatever my face revealed, he tacked on, “My judgment is tomorrow.”
“That’s not three days!”
“It is.”
Did time pass differently in Umbryth? “The day we arrived, yesterday, and today.” I lifted a finger for each day. “That’s not three full days.” As if a few hours would make a difference. But it could put some distance from their anger with him breaking the rules, making them more amenable to leniency. How could he sleep so soundly when the fate of his life would be determined tomorrow?
“What’s the best case?” I asked.
“A Quelling, which is like probation. An appointed time of magical restriction when I’m forbidden to leave Umbryth except for collections. So, I wouldn’t be able to see you.” He lookedaway. “That may the cruelest of the punishments,” he whispered softly.
As I moved toward him, Sayier gave in to her impatience, opening the door wider and tugging me out of it, letting the heavy door slam behind us.
