AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“There were other witnesses. It is more than just her word against yours,” Kano counters. “Your actions also resulted in the death of several other witches who belonged to your little coven!”
Maliki finally shows a semblance of grief and regret, his eyes closing for a moment as he bows his head, mumbling a quiet prayer to the goddess to care for their souls. When he raises his head again, his expression is cool and collected despite the sheen in his eyes. Swallowing audibly against a lump in his throat, he meets my brother’s stare.
“The loss of those witches lays heavily on my heart. However, I know that they were happy to sacrifice their lives if it meant that we purged Haven of scum.”
This is the exact moment that Maliki loses the crowd. Before now, there were some who might have been willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, or who were on the fence about following me. His casual, almost flippant comment about the deaths of several men under his command is what damns him though. Outraged shouts rain down on us, and Maliki seems to realise that instead of uniting the witches behind him, he only succeeded in alienating himself further.
Turning as much as his manacles will let him, he glares up at the crowd with disbelief that slowly turns to loathing at what he witnesses.
“You’ve all been brainwashed,” he snarls, his chains clinking loudly as he jabs his finger damningly towards me. “She is not your saviour! She’s a werewolf hybrid piece of trash who has you all wrapped around her little finger.”
He finally allows all his hatred towards me to rise to the surface, and I see the true male beneath the façade. He’s a hateful coward, filled with malice and contempt, incapable of committing any of the attempts himself. The only reason he got caught this time was because he couldn’t fight his desire to watch my demise in person.
The shouts of the watching witches gets louder, and he has to raise his voice to be heard, jabbing his finger accusingly at the crowd. “She deserves to die before any of this madness gets us all killed!”
Tension is rising, and the atmosphere is almost at a boiling point. If something isn’t done soon, it’s going to boil over, and who knows what will happen then. My chest is tight, and my mates become watchful of the witches closest to us. The last thing we want to do is get caught up in a riot.
This is the reason Kano holds such a high rank in Haven though. He looks around the room with a soldier’s eye, already five steps ahead. Raising a hand, he stands silently in the centre of the room. That’s all he does, yet people pay attention. Shouts and catcalls die down until the room is quiet once more. I’m not sure how he managed it, but it’s clear the people here respect him.
Now that the attention is back on him, Kano places his hands on his hips and slowly begins to pace a circle around the bound lord. Even I can admit that he looks intimidating, his expression severe as he looks down.
“You do know about the prophecy, yes?” Kano asks, his tone light as though this is a conversational interaction and not a trial. Without waiting for Maliki to answer, he ploughs on. “If Laelia is the chosen one, as we all suspect, then you could have doomed us all if your plan was successful.”
Maliki twists his head to follow Kano with his eyes as he’s circled. “If the prophecy comes to pass, we shall be overrun with mutts, and our great legacy will be tarnished. I couldn’t allow that to happen.” Giving up on trying to convince Kano, he turns to the witches once more. Genuine confusion and frustration colour his expression as he glances from person to person, seeming to be searching for something. When he doesn’t find it, he laughs in disbelief. “Do you really trust the werewolves not to slit our throats when our backs are turned?” he demands, but Kano has decided he’s heard enough.
With a flick of Kano’s wrist, the lord is forcibly turned with magic so he’s facing forward once more.
“So you admit you tried to kill Laelia.”
Without hesitation, Maliki jerks forward and bares his teeth. “Yes. My biggest regret is that I wasn’t successful.”
ChapterFourteen
The pure hatred emanating from the lord as his composure cracks slams into me, and my chest tightens as I struggle to take a breath against his animosity. His hostile feelings towards me have always been clear, but this is a whole new level, and it’s taken me back. Detesting someone so much it pushes you to kill is one thing, but he doesn’t know me. How is it possible to despise someone you don’t know? He’s become someone else in his anger, allowing his hatred of me to completely consume him.
I refuse to let him see that his words affect me, though, so I stand up straight and meet his resentful stare.
With the confession landing like a bomb in the meeting hall, there’s a moment of silence before the witches are in uproar. Some argue in defence of Maliki, but the majority of clamouring and jeering demands justice.
Kano watches it all with a neutral expression, carefully judging the mood of the room. Having got his confession, some might expect to see success in Kano’s eyes, but instead, he just looks tired. Turning his attention back to Maliki, he narrows his eyes on the male, and for a moment, I think he’s going to say something. However, he turns back to the queen instead and gives her a short bow. “I am done with my questioning, Your Majesty.”
The queen dismisses him with a nod, slowly stands from her throne, and takes a few small steps to the edge of the dais, Ivar materialising from the shadows behind her. The room falls silent, waiting for what comes next.
“Lord Maliki, you are hereby found guilty. You will be stripped of your title, your magic shall be blocked, and you shall rot in my cells until you die.” There is no regret or sadness in her voice as she passes judgement on one of her former lords. I don’t make the mistake of thinking that this means she cares about me and she’s making sure I have justice.
Expecting Maliki to be dragged from the room and to his cell, I wait to be dismissed. When this doesn’t happen, I glance at the queen in confusion and notice her expectant expression. She’s waiting for something, but she doesn’t have to wait long.
Several witches shout out in disgust at the leniency of the sentence, their voices angry and loud in the echoey hall. After a few shocked moments, more witches begin to call out until the hall is filled with bloodlust and calls for the former lord to be put to death.
“He doesn’t deserve to live!”
“Protect the chosen one!”
“Make him suffer like he caused Laelia to!”
“Kill the traitor!”
I’m amazed and horrified at how quickly the mood can change as they turn on one of their own. Some are calling out for Maliki to be spared, but overwhelmingly, the witches want justice. I don’t believe that Maliki should be given any leniency as he’s just going to spread his hatred to others like a disease, but their bloodlust is palpable.
