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Always has been, so I’m not sure why you sound so shocked.
She mentally snorted and then said, “Gifting Clayton the inability to get an erection was definitely an apt punishment considering he was about to rape his wife. Drugging someone into submission is illegal, you know, even in marriage.”
“That does not answer the question at hand.”
“No, but in truth, I can’t, because I really don’t understand how I managed such a complex and long-lasting spell myself.”
Which wasn’t a lie. Most incapacitation spells sat on the surface of the skin rather than under them; Belle’s had been positioned near the base of Clayton’s spine and thrust so far into his flesh that it was hard to see, let alone examine. It was generally only those spells designed to kill that went so deep, and few witches dared use them because of the whole threefold rule.
The other problem was the fact that the spell was a combination of both our magic and the wild, and we truly had no idea how the latter had gotten involved because, at the time, we’d had no clue it resided in my DNA.
Of course, the wild magic was not only the reason why the spell had lasted so long, but also why my father had joined forces with Clayton to look for me. It wasn’t until his visit at the café that he’d realized I could manipulate it.
“And yet you were able to disentangle it, which belies your statement,” Moderno said.
“No, it doesn’t, because the spell was a combination of my magic and Liz’s, and it took the two of us working in tandem to unpick it.”
“Whose magic would you say was the stronger thread within that spell?”
“Your Honor,” Anthony said, “this has no relevance to the charges.”
“I tend to agree,” the adjudicator said. “If you have a point, please say so. Otherwise, move on, Counselor.”
“Very well, Your Honor,” Moderno said. “But I reserve the right to come back to this point at a later junction.”
The adjudicator nodded, and Belle was released from the stand. She blew me a kiss, scowled at my father, then headed out.
Anthony called his next witness, someone I didn’t know and couldn’t remember seeing when I had been living at home, and the questions rolled on. After another twenty minutes or so, the adjudicator called it a day and said we’d resume again at one tomorrow. Either they didn’t like getting up early or they all had more important things to do in the morning.
I watched my father and Moderno leave and then said, “Do you think Belle’s outburst has harmed our case?”
Anthony shook his head. “The adjudicator allowing it to stand on record means I can now bring in evidence to support the fact that your father agreed to the marriage as an act of revenge against you.”
“Is there evidence, though? It’s basically his word against mine now that Clayton is dead.”
A smile touched Anthony’s lips. “If there’s one truth that can never be denied in any great house, be they witch or human, it’s the fact that walls have ears and eyes.”
“Staff are magically restricted from talking about private details of those they work for.”
“And as with most restrictive spells of that kind, it’s almost impossible to be truly specific about all the things that can and can’t be discussed. Most spells are general in nature and include big tickets items like relationships and finances.”
“A forced marriage would fall under those restrictions, surely.”
“But an underage forced marriage would not, as it is illegal, and no royal family would risk a competitor seeing the inclusion in the spell and reporting it.”
Which they would if it gave them an advantage over said competitor. “If there’s a witness who can confirm this marriage is nothing more than an act of revenge, why wasn’t he or she called first?”
“Because he’s not back in Australia yet.”
My eyebrows rose. “Where is he?”
“Touring Europe. It’s taken us a while to track him down.”
“Does that mean he’s on the witness list?”
Anthony nodded. “With a question mark. The opposition will, of course, be hoping we’d be unsuccessful in getting him here in time.”
“I take it that means my father had a hand in secreting him away?”
