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At least he wasn’t sitting in my place.
“You’ve brought us the traitor, Sig,” Juan Carlos crowed, coming to his feet.
“You speak boldly and out of turn,” Sig replied. “Secret has not been found to be a traitor, nor has any such charge been brought against her. Your distaste for her alleged bloodline notwithstanding, she has done nothing wrong.”
Juan Carlos’s mouth formed a thin line, and he gave me a withering glare. “She’s bewitched you.”
I didn’t give Sig a chance to reply because I laughed so loud anything he said would have been lost. “Are you out of your fucking mind?” I wiped pink-hued tears from the corner of my eyes. “You might choose to think the worst of me, and that’s your prerogative or whatever, but you can’t be stupid enough to think I could enforce my will on Sig.”
“You are a manipulative little cunt, and I wouldn’t put anything past you.”
Though the room had already been silent, it was now so still I could have heard a pin drop. It’s amazing how quiet things can get when no one around you needs to breathe.
My face flushed hot from his words. It was no great surprise that Juan Carlos hated me, and I knew he’d never trusted me, but for him to outright disrespect me like this in front of the elders was appalling. For all intents and purposes I was his equal.
If this were the wolf pack, it would be within my rights as queen to rip his throat out.
Too bad wolf law didn’t apply here.
“How dare you,” I spat back.
The vampires around us were watching the proceedings like some kind of insult-laden tennis match, their gazes volleying from one side of the room to the other, but none of them showing an allegiance towards either of us.
“You are a liar, a traitor and a freak.” His face was splotched red with anger, and when he spoke, spittle flew into the air from the emphasis he placed on each word. “And now we know it. The truth is out, and I will be rid of you once and for all.”
Bristling with rage, I forced myself to look somewhere else, and my attention landed on Rebecca, Holden’s sire. “Rebecca,” I said.
“Tribunal Leader Secret.”
At least she was still using appropriate decorum, where Juan Carlos seemed to have forgotten all his.
“Is there a rule in the council that says a werewolf cannot sit on the Tribunal?”
She fidgeted nervously and glanced to the man standing next to her, but he waved his hand for her to answer me. “No.”
“What are the rules regarding a Tribunal leader, then?” Now my focus returned to Juan Carlos, and I suspected my face was as red as his.
“The only rules regarding the Tribunal are as follows.” She spoke as if reading from a book. “A Tribunal leader will remain in their position until they are removed by death. If their death is the result of a declared fight, the victor of that fight has rightful claim to the seat. If the death is the result of natural causes or an accident, the Elder Council will determine the successor.”
“Anything else?”
“A Tribunal leader may never be challenged or killed by another Tribunal leader.” Now her attention turned to Juan Carlos as well.
He trembled, barely able to contain the anger vibrating through him.
“How did I come to be on the Tribunal, Rebecca?” I asked.
“You were the victor in a declared fight against Daria Chabert. The council convened, in regards to your perceived mortality, and deemed you were still fit to take the seat.”
“And has the council’s opinion on my ability to lead been changed in any way since that time? Have I given any reason to doubt my loyalty?”
“At the request of your fellow Tribunal leaders you were sent to the seer, Monica. She determined you were suited for leadership and trustworthy to the council.”
“And has Monica ever been wrong about anyone?”
“Monica is never wrong.”
A thin, malicious smile crossed my lips, and I could tell it was doing nothing to improve Juan Carlos’s mood. “Thank you, Rebecca.”
