45
THE POISONER
The trial started early.
I wore black, selfishly. A red ribbon tied around my arm. They said it was for the safety of others, but in reality it was akin to sewing a scarlet letter to my clothing.
Most of the trial was tuned out in my mind. It didn’t matter anymore.
Character statements, eugenic arguments, laws not bound by civilization—it was whatever benefited the representatives. It wasn’t intended to be fair; it never was.
“If the Nest was fit, it never would have been able to be killed so easily. Not only is this a natural succession from Sire to spawn, but it only strengthens the value of why bloodline-structured Nests are outdated and a danger to the species,” Luka argued.
“It’s unreasonable because no typical Vipera would have seen a necrotic poison as a threat—they didn’t even know it existed!” Levi replied.
“Which may be a better argument for why thinking you are untouchable is not only flawed, but a degeneration of instinct,” Luka retorted sharply.
He stood at the end of the table, Silas stood in the middle, and I remained seated.
At this point, we’d had glowing testimonies as well as scathing ones. There was a vote to be had on the crime of kin-killing, next would be my arguments. Levi stared as the representatives deliberated, quite loudly. Nothing they said would matter. This was a decision reserved for me.
From where I observed, it was evenly split.
It was harder to argue since they valued evolution, and Silas and Luka made convincing arguments for our Nest’s fitness as well as their own, the significant evidence for and against them being the fact that they’d gathered one hundred and twenty-five deaths with only four vials of my poison in the bloodwine decanters.
I let it go on because I wanted to hear it for my own ego.
But it was time.
“We will be moving on to the case of Alina Lis, the Cannibal.” The judge slapped the table to dampen the deliberation.
The representatives switched to writing down their grievances or endorsements instead of yelling them.
All eyes turned to me.
Mr. Astor’s hadn’t looked away during the forced display.
“What say you to the crime of kin-killing?”
“Not guilty,” I said.
“Such a bold statement when the evidence is clear.” One of the representatives pointed to the jars of evidence.
“Is it a crime to eat flesh?” I asked.
They all stared.
The judge shifting as he stood. “No. But you are on trial for the killing—”
“I did not kill her.”
More groans from the gallery.
“Miss Lis, the evidence is clear. You may want to make another argument,” he suggested. Somehow it seemed empathetic.
All eyes on me.
The representatives shot glances to one another. Their faces communicating something like irritants and haste. Did they want this trial over so soon? Supposedly they all agreed to entertain Levi’s contract. All of them were rats, corrupted puppets pretending to uphold civility and justice.
“May I make a character statement?” I asked.
They looked to one another before nodding.
“If you must,” the judge droned.
I clasped my hands in my lap, leaning forward against the table all three of us sat behind.
“Years ago I was lucky enough to make something special,” I began, glancing at the witnesses crowding behind the representatives.
Mary chewed her nail as she held John’s wheelchair.
He looked like he was able to move his head and arms now.
The face of distress was no match for his paralysis, it was all in his eyes.
“I formed my own Nest, not unlike this one. A self-sustaining collection of brilliant women, Hosts and Vipera. During that time, I learned much about leadership, diplomacy, and most importantly, sacrifice.”
While the representatives did not appreciate the stalling, there was a softening of the other curious faces.
One of which I spotted was Elijah Johnson standing by.
Even when he was most critical of me when we met, clearly he did not see eye to eye with Soros’s plan—or else he would have met the same fate.
Something brought him to observe. Even if it was a small gesture, it gave me hope that people would hear me, even if they were repulsed by me.
“We lost good people.” I swallowed, glancing at Mary.
“We lost a bright girl named Adeline. And it was my fault. I waited too long to accept help from others, something that would not only isolate myself, but others.” I looked back to the judge.
“Edith Friedman was a member of our Nest exhibiting concerning behaviors. I thought she was bright, very curious. But just like I failed Adeline who had been eaten by the feral cases of the area, Edith was failed too. If I had caught on earlier, they both would still be here.”
“What is the point of this?” A representative raised his hand, arguing with the judge.
“Edith is the reason I was reborn as I am now,” I stated plainly, “after I took a knife in my stomach that was meant for Phoebe.”
Levi’s eyes snapped to me.
“I tell you this to appeal to the claim that I am some mindless, uncontrollable monster.” I made an effort to make eye contact with all who dared.
“I would never intentionally hurt someone. Phoebe meant a great deal to me, more than anyone in this world. We have been nearly inseparable since birth.”
I lifted my hands from my lap, resting them on the table.
The gold posey band was stacked on my finger, next to the engagement ring.
“Thank you for your statement.” The tall, dark man nodded. “Sir Astor?”
“I think we all have good intentions. We are very few, the Vipera as a species. So I must emphasize that everything I do is to benefit us all, as a whole.” Levi stood from his seat, buttoning his jacket as he affixed a smile to his face.
“I’m happy to announce that a deal has been struck outside of the current litigation. ”
The judge seemed caught by surprise, but not because it seemed uncommon. Probably due to such easy forgiveness of such a crime.
The chatter among the witnesses erupted, the representatives easing back their commentary. Filthy, crooked bastards.
“Silence!” the tall man yelled amid the chaos, turning back to Levi. “Are you sure of this?”
“Of course! All of this has been so strenuous.” He gestured around the room. “It would please me if we all could come to an agreement. We are very few as a species, is it not better to preserve what we have?”
“It is up to you as the prosecuting party,” he said carefully.
“Then I say we end this arduous process and celebrate.” He clasped his hands behind his back. “The deal has been accepted.”
“No, it hasn’t,” Silas hissed.
I placed the small stack of papers on the table and pushed it forward.
Silas stared down at them.
One of the assistants collected them. Silas’s eyes followed them until they landed in his father’s hands. Levi flipped through the pages, checking that each one was signed. He held them up for all to see. “This is how you do diplomacy. A selfless sacrifice that benefits all of us, not just a few.”
The representatives looked pleased, a small applause as they stood one by one. A growingly confused crowd of witnesses joined slowly.
The way they looked at me was nothing short of concern.
The expressions of the crowd compared to the representatives were like day and night.
Then I realized they were just coming to the same conclusion I did—that this race was fixed.
The trial wasn’t about justice, it was about bending to their will.
“As a token of gratitude for your sacrifice, my son,” Levi grinned, “all is forgiven.”
Everyone stood from their seats, shaking each other’s hands and patting backs. I stayed seated, watching it all unfold. Men were simple, painfully so. Their greed and egos put blinders on them, like carriage horses.
I finally looked to Silas, his eyes trained on me.
Something so helpless in him.
I shook my head slowly before taking my leave, Mr. Astor’s security tailing my heel, protecting the acquisition. Levi’s new property is all they saw.
All my Creature could do was as I said—do not engage. The longing could only follow with a look as he watched me go.
Soon the celebratory garble faded as I retired.
They were too obsessed with the anticipation of the slaughter to notice the lamb had wandered off.
There would be no sleep tonight, only more time to prepare.
I sat in the sill of the open window, braiding half of my hair up and pinning it into a comfortable position. A couple loose curls framing my face. I took breaks in between pinning. Even with a new, dangerous body, my arms still grew weary from doing my hair.
I wove pieces of dried wolfsbane into the braids, a laurel of sharp violet blooms upon my head. Even my dear toxic blooms smelled different to me now. Sweeter than ever, they’d lost quite a bit of their bite.
The doors to my room burst open, slapping against the walls as they were flung, the noise alarming at such a late hour. Silas stormed through, his breathing was hard, with clenched fists.
Sidney reached in to pull the doors closed. “Be quick, and be quiet,” he scolded Silas.
The light curtains billowed. I clutched the frame of the window, waiting.
He lunged, a hand placed on either side of me on the sill. Then his lips met mine, and I did not care if I fell off our home again. I’d fall for him as many times as I could.
I wrapped my arms around his neck as I leaned back, the breeze combing through my hair and sweeping us in the scent of Aconitum flowers.
“I can’t do this,” he said between kisses. “Goddamn you, I can’t!”
“You know it’s the only way.” I tipped my head back, feeling the cool breeze on my lashes and the moonlight on my skin. “Freedom is on the tips of our tongues. I can taste it now.”
His strong arm scooped under my back, the other hand reaching up to brush his fingertip over my left brow and lashes, like he was taking into account every curve of my face, every pore of skin, every piece of me stored away deep in an archive if all goes wrong.