Chapter 41
Varum felt his shoulder being pulled from its socket, but he didn’t care.
He had to get to Kalyani. More weight pressed onto his back, restraining him and pushing him against the floor.
Other hands grabbed his legs, pinning him.
Then someone firmly planted a foot on his temple, keeping his head turned to the side.
That was fine by him. He needed to see Kalyani anyway.
The shocked crowd was getting louder by the moment.
He knew what was coming for her, and he kept fighting to get free.
He might not be able to save her from death, but he at least wanted to be beside her.
She shouldn’t have to face what was coming on her own when he was the one who had put her life in danger.
His heart clutched painfully. Just that morning, he had woken beside her. He should’ve gotten her out of the city already. Nay, that wasn’t right. He never should’ve brought her here to begin with. Varum struggled again.
The foot on his head pressed into him harder. “You’d do well to keep still.”
The voice wasn’t familiar, but it wouldn’t matter if it was. No one would stop him from reaching Kalyani. He gathered magic in his hands and readied to release it. A sharp pain in his upper back stopped him in his tracks. Something warm and wet slowly slid down his back and soaked into his tunic.
“I warned you,” the voice stated.
Varum seethed. The bastard would be the first one he killed when he got free.
He might be dying that day, but he would take as many enemies with him as he could.
Varum fought to get another look at Kalyani, but the guards around her had shifted and blocked his view.
The fear he had seen in her eyes broke him.
He had promised to keep her safe and get her home, and he had failed on both accounts.
He attempted to inch over to see her face.
The wound on his back throbbed as more blood gushed, but the foot on his head kept him in place.
He stilled when he spotted her bare feet.
They hadn’t even put shoes on her. But why would they?
They believed humans were lowly beings not worth the time.
He was ashamed that, for most of his life, he had thought the same.
She had changed his perspective. Nay, that wasn’t true. She had changed him. All of him.
And what had he done for her? He’d abducted her, kept her locked in his home, and allowed her to be captured.
The final blow would be her death. His eyes burned with tears when it hit him that he would be forced to watch them take her life.
A tear ran out of his eye, over his nose, and onto his cheek.
“Kalyani,” he whispered.
The foot ground into his cheek and temple. Dimly, he heard the speaker talking. Fury coursed through him when they called her a disgusting human. He yanked on his arm and kicked, but the guards had a firm hold on him.
Finally, the speaker stopped talking. The crushing weight atop Varum made him fight for breath. He gathered magic in his hands once more, but they noticed immediately. The soldiers forced his hands into fists and restrained them. He was quickly running out of options.
Varum stilled when he heard the speaker call the Tidewarden’s name. He couldn’t see Arvind, but he could tell when the elf stood because the crowd quieted again. A heartbeat later, Arvind’s voice filled the arena.
“Human, you have violated our most sacred law and entered our city uninvited. How do you plead?”
Varum shifted his head as far as he could to see Kalyani. She was strong and confident, going up against those working for the Masters. She hadn’t cared if she was injured. This was far from battle. He knew she was afraid, and it killed him that she was alone.
Kalyani couldn’t see the face of the elf who questioned her.
He stood in the box and was dressed as an important figure, but that didn’t sway her.
Her heart pounded so hard and loud, she thought it might give out before they could deliver a verdict of death.
It would be nice to take away their need to execute her.
She drew in a breath. “Does it matter what answer I give?” She was pleasantly surprised by how strong her voice sounded. With the way she trembled, she’d thought for sure it would come out as a strangled whisper.
There was another gasp from the masses. Kalyani didn’t take her eyes off the elf questioning her.
He had already sentenced her to death. This show was merely a formality for those watching.
The fact that they’d brought Varum told her that much.
She hadn’t yet figured out if this was just about her, or if the Tidewarden intended to take his anger out on Varum, too.
She might not be able to do much, but she would do what she could to save both Nirav and Varum.
“You don’t seem to care that your life is in my hands,” the Tidewarden stated.
“We both know you’ve already decided my fate.
I don’t know why you would ask such a question.
If I say I knew I came uninvited, you will cite that I deliberately went against your laws and demand my immediate death.
If I say I had no idea I needed to be invited, you will declare that my ignorance doesn’t justify my actions and call for my immediate death. ”
Kalyani wanted to glance at Varum, but she didn’t dare. Everyone had seen how he had tried to get to her once he saw her. It was all a part of the display being put on by those in charge. She had been discovered in Varum’s home, which automatically connected them.
“Then, perhaps, you’ll share how you found Tarangarh,” the elf asked asked. “Our city is hidden.”
She shrugged. “Not as well as you might think.”
The crowd noise rose at her statement—some with disbelief, and others with outrage. The Tidewarden had wanted to shock everyone. Well, two could play that game.
He walked closer to the platform railing. His long, turquoise and white robes drew the eye. “There’s no way you found the trench on your own, much less Tarangarh. Who brought you here? Was it Varum?”
“Who is that?” she asked.
“You’re claiming not to know the elf whose house we found you in?”
Kalyani almost dared a glance at Varum, but she stopped herself in time. “I am. I had no idea where I was. I’ve been in and out of several places since I arrived. How else do you explain how I got these clothes?”
Once more, her comments sparked conversation among those in attendance. Even from a distance, she felt the elf in charge’s hateful glare. Everyone here underestimated humans. She was just using that to her benefit.
“There’s no way.”
Kalyani lifted her chin as she kept her gaze on the Tidewarden. “You keep saying I’m not able to do these things, and yet, here I am.”
“Humans cannot swim to these depths!”
She lifted her arms. “I’m standing before you now, saying that I can.”
Varum couldn’t believe what Kalyani was doing.
Every time he tried to speak up, the crowd drowned out his words.
He knew what she was doing, but it was futile.
Arvind was too smart to have made any errors.
As brave as she was, it wouldn’t do anything but anger Arvind and bring about her death even quicker.
Nirav hadn’t been dragged out with them.
That could only mean he had managed to evade the guards so far.
Arvind would have the city thoroughly searched.
Even if Nirav could get away, he wouldn’t.
He would stay and attempt to reach Varum.
It would all be in vain, though. Neither he nor Kalyani was getting out of this alive.
“You lie!” Arvind shouted at her.
To her credit, Kalyani kept her voice even when she said, “I have no reason to lie. I’ve always been an exceptional swimmer.”
“Then explain how you can breathe underwater.”
Varum closed his eyes at Arvind’s demand. He couldn’t imagine how she would answer after she’d vehemently denied having gills.
“I was hoping the Sea Elves could tell me,” she said. “Why do you think I sought you out?”
Arvind slammed his hand atop the railing. “Even if you could swim to these depths and somehow breathe underwater, you wouldn’t have been able to navigate the currents or find the entrance.”
“You’re right. I wouldn’t be able to do that on my own.”
Varum’s eyes snapped open. He waited for her to say his name.
Instead, she said, “I saw a couple of Sea Elves and followed them. They never looked behind them, so it was pretty simple.”
He stared at her foot, the only thing he could see of her, and wished he could wrap his arms around her. She was quick with her answers. Not that they would spare his life. She was just making things worse for herself.
Tanira looked from the human to her father’s back. She had lost sight of Varum when the soldiers took him to the ground the moment he caught sight of the woman. She thought back to when she’d visited Varum last. He had seemed more anxious than usual with her being in his home.
She went back over that encounter carefully. Then she compared it to his visit, where he had put an end to them permanently. He had been different both times. Still aloof, but there had been a subtle shift. Did it have something to do with the human?
Tanira recalled trying to get into Varum’s and frowned.
Had she been able to get through his magic and unlock the door, would she have found the human?
Varum had called on her hours after she attempted to break in.
She hadn’t thought much about it then, but now, the coincidence was too clear to overlook.
The woman was trying to steer things away from Varum, and she was doing an admirable job.
Tanira might even believe her if she didn’t know Varum as well as she did.
He wouldn’t have tried to get away from the guards if it had been her in the human’s spot.
Someone had finally broken through his walls.
Tanira had always thought it would be her.
Instead, it had been the woman on trial now.
Tanira looked at her father again. He was too involved with the interrogation to pay attention to her.
It might be her only chance to get away.
She glanced at her mother, but even she was caught up in this mockery of a trial.
Tanira was used to moving about as she pleased.
No one but her father would stop her. At least, that’s what she hoped.
She got to her feet and headed out of the box. Tanira didn’t breathe until she was out of the arena. It wouldn’t take long for her father to notice she was missing. She had to act fast.