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I sat in the court for what felt like hours before the crew was brought in. It was empty and cold, and it wasn’t until only a few minutes before the Trials that the sirens started to come into court. When they saw Luc and me they stopped; or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that they stopped when they saw Luc, ignoring me completely. A few of them smiled and waved to him, while others just nodded in acknowledgment.
“They all know you?” I said.
“Of course. They recognized both of us as soon as we arrived here.”
I folded my arms. “They sure didn’t act like it. They look over me like I don’t exist at all.”
Luc licked his lips and looked down, but didn’t say anything.
The doors opened. Everyone came to their feet.
Adrian’s crew.
Through the open doors, the sirens came in, in pairs, two guards for each human. The humans were stopped at the door, and their fingers were pricked, just as mine and Luc’s had been for our trials. The difference was, the king and Judges were not at the lake as they had been before. This time, there were designated sirens standing in the lake, ready for the trial.
I recognized every human face as it came in, but my heart stopped at the fourth face to be brought in.
Adrian.
Despite Luc’s alarmed voice behind me, I raced over, meeting Adrian just after his finger had been pricked. He blinked at me a few times as if he wasn’t really seeing me.
“I think I must be dreaming again,” he muttered with a smile.
I stepped forward, bringing my hands to his face.
“Adrian,” I asked. “Are you hurt?”
His skin felt cool and healthy, too healthy to suddenly die in minutes should he have been found guilty.
He only smiled and shook his head. “It hasn’t been all that bad. The food here is better than Luc’s cooking, if I’m honest—”
“Stop joking,” I interrupted. “Don’t you understand how serious this is?”
His eyes flashed for a brief moment before softening.
“Yes,” he said. “Which is exactly why I need to keep my sense of humor. I wouldn’t want you to remember me in any other way, princess.”
I chewed hard on my lip, trying to keep it steady. “I don’t want you to—”
“Don’t think about it. I already told you that I was a demon. It’s only fitting to be sent where I belong.”
He held my gaze, meaning every word of it. He didn’t seem remorseful or afraid, and I was angry becauseIwas.
I opened my mouth to say something, but a furious scream echoed across the courthouse.
Henrik was drug in through the door. He pulled back so hard that the sirens almost fell over him. His hair and eyes were wild, his clothes seeming to hang off his bones. He looked nothing like the gentleman I knew only days ago.
Adrian sighed. “It seems my brother is on his way to hell with me.”
“What happened to him?”
Adrian shrugged. “He’s always had a temper, but since being brought here, he’s snapped completely.”
As they brought him closer, I ran to meet him. His nostrils flared as I approached. Before I could even say his name, he was growling at me.
“Get away from me, siren!” he yelled, spitting at my feet.
I jumped back. He huffed, out of breath, as if he had fought the entire way to the courthouse. Judging by how exhausted his siren handlers were, he probably had.
