Chapter 39 #2
“I’m not an outside party. I have reason to believe that I may be a valuable witness in this situation, as will these ladies.” Alaric’s voice is cold, but he radiates fury that commands attention from everyone in the room.
“You can't just barge into a disciplinary hearing!”
“I can when the hearing involves false accusations against one of my students.” His dark eyes sweep the room, and several board members shift uncomfortably. “And I’d be willing to bet that my name has already been brought up in my absence.”
The room is silent.
“Son, what an unexpected surprise,” the dark-haired man in the center of the panel says with an amused smile, leaning back in his seat while somehow maintaining his impeccable posture.
Son? My brow furrows as I stare at Alaric, and in my peripheral vision, I see the board members looking between themselves or leaning forward with intrigue. I look between the two of them, realizing now why I thought the man’s features looked familiar.
Alaric addresses the board. “For those who may not be aware, my father is Caius Escher, the president of the board. I chose to take my mother’s maiden name at an early age to avoid receiving unwarranted attention, whether positive or negative, due to my family name.
I attended school at Elysium Academy as a student due to my Fae heritage, and I taught there for multiple years before transferring here.
Nobody at Arcadia, not even Chancellor Aldrich, was aware of my familial connections, and I’m only revealing them now in order to protect an innocent student from being unduly expelled. ”
“You seem to be going through an awful lot of trouble for one student, Dr. Vale,” the Chancellor sneers. “I have to wonder if your late-night tutoring sessions in the greenhouse were more personal than they should be.”
My breath catches in my throat. Even after all the hurt he’s put me through, I don’t want Alaric to lose his job for me, and I don’t want to endure any further humiliation due to my mistakes.
Alaric looks over at me, and I pray to whatever god that will listen that he sees the plea in my eyes for him to keep our secret.
He turns back toward the Chancellor. “I don’t appreciate your insinuations, and I can’t help but wonder about the integrity of a woman who would falsely accuse a student of such a serious crime without genuine evidence, only to make more unwarranted accusations toward an educator simply because he cares about his students. ”
Chancellor Aldrich huffs. “You seem to have an awful lot of care for this particular student. You’ve spent a considerable amount of alone time together, and you’ve given her access to restricted areas.
I’m just stating that you better make sure those boundaries are crystal clear going forward, because relationships between faculty and students are strictly against the rules. ”
“Will you also be investigating Vivian’s close relationship with Jenny Showen? Because, as far as I’m aware, they’ve spent time together at Professor Showen’s private residence.”
“And if I may add to the conversation,” Delilah interjects in a shaky yet determined voice before the Chancellor can respond, “your statement about relationships between professors and students is not quite accurate.” She opens the booklet she’s been holding, and I realize it’s the academy handbook.
The pages flutter with how hard she’s trembling.
“Section eleven, paragraph four of the academy conduct code states, and I quote: 'Faculty members are prohibited from engaging in romantic or sexual relationships with students currently enrolled in their courses or whom they hold a position of authority over.’ I know that’s not relevant currently, because I don’t think you’ll find any evidence to support your insinuations that Vivian and Dr. Vale have had any sort of inappropriate relationship, but I’d just like to state that for clarification regarding any future situations that may arise. ”
I bite back a smile. Delilah is already covering my ass for future semesters, meaning Max likely told her what was going on, but I don’t mind.
Delilah is one of the most intelligent people I know, but she’s also terrified to break the rules or stand up to authority, and yet here she is, being pedantic with the board of trustees and the Chancellor of the academy on my behalf.
Max stands with her arms crossed, staring daggers at the Chancellor without so much as blinking.
“That sounds like a pretty clear policy to me,” Mr. Escher says.
“Regardless,” the Chancellor presses on, though she’s clearly losing ground, “the fact remains that Miss Harver had access to poisonous plants through her connection to Dr. Vale. She had the means to poison Mitchell.”
“While I’ll admit that I showed Vivian the restricted area of the greenhouse once, at the very beginning of the semester, I can say with one hundred percent confidence that she has not had access to the area since then.
In fact, I only recently noticed that my spare key to that area had been stolen, and I have to wonder who may have taken it, because I am certain it was not Miss Harver. ”
There’s murmuring between the board members as more new information comes to light.
“This is all very convenient,” the Chancellor says.
“A stolen key that wasn’t reported, a student who just happened to stumble upon the dead body despite being the only person we know of who has been in that area of the forest, and now Dr. Vale just happens to show up with character witnesses to defend her despite their obvious bias. ”
Max steps forward, her expression cold as ice.
“Yes, Vivian is my friend, but I’m also an empath.
I’ve been living with Vivian for months now, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that she’s not capable of murder.
The emotional signature of someone who would kill intentionally is distinctive, and she doesn’t have it.
If there are any other empaths on the panel here, you’ll know what I’m talking about. ”
Mr. Escher cocks an eyebrow and turns, leaning forward to look at the woman at the very end of the row. Dark curls frame her soft features. “Sabine? Would you care to give us your insight?”
She nods, and I look straight into her eyes. I’m sure she can sense my fear, but beneath that, I hope she can sense the emotional signature—or whatever Max had said—within me that shows my true nature.
“Empathic testimony is notoriously unreliable,” the Chancellor argues.