Chapter 3
THE FIRST INQUISITOR
Arow of ornate golden chairs lined the two long sides of the ballroom. On each one sat a well-dressed supernatural, straight-backed and regal, like they were posing for a painting. All eyes were fixed on me, and most of them weren’t friendly.
At the far end of the room stood a third row of golden chairs, larger and grander than the others.
They looked like thrones. Twelve golden thrones.
Eleven were occupied. The twelfth lay empty.
That must have been Queen Seriana’s throne.
Some members of the Court were under the impression that I’d killed her. This was going to be anything but fun.
I squared my shoulders and stepped through the door, trying my best to ignore the scathing looks and whispered hisses as I took a seat on the lone metal chair positioned at the center of the ballroom.
I held my breath for a moment, half-expecting thorns or spikes to burst out of the chair, impaling me. I waited. Nothing. I exhaled.
I saw Kato and Conner standing at the door beside the General. There were a few dozen other Knights and Apprentices in the room too, all standing. Only the members of the Court got to sit—and me, in this cold, uncomfortable chair that might sprout fangs at any moment.
A young woman with long, glittering hair as gold as her throne spoke. “Savannah Winters, we have called you here today to hear your testimony in the matter of Queen Seriana’s death.”
I recognized the woman. I’d seen her at the Summit last week, the day Fenris had ‘died’.
Her name was Duchess Diadora, and she was a Nymph.
A powerful Nymph. She’d made a metal sculpture come to life, then commanded it to drag away the traitor who’d supposedly killed Fenris and Seriana.
Though, looking back now, that ‘traitor’ had probably been one of Fenris’s lackeys, planted there to sell the lie that he and his mother were dead.
“Do you swear to speak only the truth to this Court?” Duchess Diadora asked me.
“I do.”
Diadora watched me very closely. “Be careful, Savannah. This is not a human proceeding. The magic will hold you to your word. Eventually, the truth will come out.”
I met her gaze, smiling. “Good. That’s why I’m here: to see that the truth comes out.”
Diadora’s face betrayed no emotion. From what I’d seen of her, she was honorable.
People respected her because she stood for justice and order.
She was tough for a Nymph, but then again, people always did underestimate the Nymphs.
Diadora wasn’t a bad person. She wasn’t an enemy. She wasn’t an ally either.
“Savannah, this is Vela, First Inquisitor of the Many Realms Court. She will get to the truth, one way or another.”
A woman moved toward me, her high heels like raindrops piercing a silent forest. The First Inquisitor was petite, about my height, even wearing those heels.
She wore a fitted navy dress, short-sleeved and knee-length, tied with a belt that accentuated her tiny waist and wide hips.
Dark hair, long and sleek, fell to her waist. A subtle, glossy, light-pink polish covered her manicured nails.
Her makeup was dramatic, especially around the eyes.
Those eyes looked like they could see straight into your soul.
Vela was a Sorcerer. I could feel it in her magic. I could hear it in the way that she moved. I saw it in her eyes. She’d dabbled in very powerful magic, magic some people would call unnatural. This was why people were afraid of sorcerers.
“Savannah Winters.”
There was something so unsettling about the way she said my name. I flinched. She saw it and smiled. I had a feeling Vela didn’t miss anything. I could not flinch again.
I looked at Vela and dipped my chin. “First Inquisitor.” My gaze panned across the supernaturals sitting on their thrones. My head bowed lower. “Honorable members of the Court.”
Kato had prepped me as best he could for this, given what little time we’d had. There were certain courtesies I had to follow when dealing with the Court. First and foremost, I had to acknowledge their power and prestige.
My gaze fell back on Vela. She looked every bit as intimidating as she had thirty seconds ago, but this time I didn’t flinch.
“Give us your account of the events that led up to Queen Seriana’s death,” she said.
I took a moment to gather my thoughts before I spoke. This was important. I had to get it right.
“Thirteen days ago, three assailants attacked this very building. They entered the jewelry shop next door and barricaded themselves inside, staging a pretend jewelry heist to lure the Knights out of the Conference Center. The three assailants then proceeded to blow a hole through the wall that connects the two buildings, so they could enter the Conference Center. Once here, they quickly gathered up the Apprentices. Their orders were to kidnap all of us, all thirty-one Apprentices.”
Vela stopped me there. “There were thirty-one of you and only three of them, and you didn’t fight back?”
“They wore special armor that magnified their magic. We were no match for them.”
“Who created this armor?” Vela asked.
I hesitated. I knew I was being led into a trap, but I couldn’t see any way to avoid it.
“Who created this armor, Savannah?” Vela repeated.
Nope, no way out of this one. I couldn’t ignore a direct question from the First Inquisitor of the Many Realms Court.
“The armor was created by a woman named Elandra Moore.”
I caught a glimpse of Kylie wincing.
“Is this Elandra Moore the same woman who leads the Brotherhood of Earth, an anti-magic organization?” Vela was talking to me but looking at the Court. “Is she the same woman who tried to destroy all the Spirit Trees across the Many Realms?”
Hisses rose from the Court members like steam from hot asphalt.
Vela turned back around to face me. “We asked you a question, Savannah Winters. Is this the same woman?”
Acid burned in my throat. I could barely force the word out. “Yes.”
“So the woman who declared war against the Many Realms gave the armor to the three armored kidnappers.”
“She didn’t give the armor to them. They stole it from her.”
“Do you have any evidence to back up your claim?”
“The Brotherhood of Earth hates supernaturals. They wouldn’t experiment on them in an attempt to make them even more powerful.”
Vela’s mouth cut a hard smile. “So that’s a no then. You have no evidence to back up your claims.”
Way to go, Savannah. You saw it coming, and you still walked right into it.
You’re not helping, I told my inner cynic.
“Elandra’s confession at the Spirit Tree was caught on camera,” I pointed out.
“Yes, that was quite a show.” Vela gave me an indulgent laugh.
And the Court laughed with her. Court Inquisitor: 1, Savannah: 0.
“We all came very close to the end of the Spirit Trees. How can you be so nonchalant about that?” I demanded.
“Oh, I assure you, we’re taking that very seriously. We’re taking this all very seriously.”
“If that were true, you would arrest Fenris so that he can’t hurt anyone else.”
Vela’s smile was her tightest one yet. “We have spoken to Prince Fenris. And he tells a very different story from the one you’re telling us.”
“Because he’s lying.”
“That is a very bold statement.”
“The truth is bold and unapologetic. And here’s the truth. He—” I pointed at Fenris. “—kidnapped Apprentices from Gaia. He experimented on them, pumping drugs into them to try to turn them into Polymages. And he did it so he could make an army to take out all of you.”
Grumbles of protest rose from the Court.
“Ridiculous!”
“We don’t kill our own members.”
“We all made a vow.”
If only I could find a way to introduce them to reality.
“He killed Queen Seriana, his own mother,” I said. “So what makes you think he holds any vow sacred?”
“Careful, child,” Vela warned me. “This isn’t a playground. You’re standing before the Court which governs all the Many Realms.”
It was hopeless. Utterly hopeless.
Vela’s voice cut through the room chatter. “We call on Prince Fenris to testify.”
Fenris, that slimy vampire weasel, rose from his chair, smiling.
He took his time making his way to the front.
Along the way, many of the Court members clasped arms with him in support.
Either the Order of Kings was much bigger than we’d thought, or Fenris was a lot more popular than we’d thought.
In either case, this was going to be a problem.
Fenris finally made it to the front. A second witness chair materialized out of thin air, and Fenris took a seat. He offered me a congenial smile. I tried not to throw up in my mouth.
Vela watched the vampire prince. “This girl claims you killed Queen Seriana. What do you say to that?”
“That it’s a lie, of course. A lie put into her mouth by the Iron Wolf.”
“You are referring to General Lynch.”
“Yes, General Lynch. He lords over the Knights like a king in his Castle. They are all terrified of him. They would say anything for him. They would do anything for him. Even betray their own friends. Take, for example, the case of the former Apprentice Bronte Vance. She whispered her friends’ secrets to the General. ”
It was scary how smoothly and naturally Fenris could twist the truth to serve his own sinister schemes.
“And Bronte Vance is not alone,” he continued. “All the Knights and Apprentices do whatever the General says.”
“Do they? What of the Rebels?” Vela was watching him very, very closely, hanging on his every word. Either she was on to him, or she was a willing participant in his game.
“The Rebels? A show! They are also under the General’s control. In fact, they are his most loyal henchmen. They do all his dirty work. Such as kidnapping Apprentices.”
Outrage twisted Conner’s face. He tried to take a step forward, but Kato caught his arm, holding him back.
“The General needs to pretend that they’re Rebels so they are free to move about as he wishes, doing as he wishes, behind the scenes.
He sold us the lie that the Rebels are outside his control, and we believed it.
Alas, I believed it.” Fenris rose from his seat to address the Court, his hand set over his chest. “And for that I am truly sorry, my friends. I have failed you. I should have seen through the General’s lies. ”
“It wasn’t you, Fenris.”
“It was the General.”
“It was Gaia.”
“They had us all fooled.”
Fenris bowed his head, basking in his comrades’ support and sympathy. What a farce. It made me sick to my stomach.
“Sit down, Prince Fenris. We’re not through.” Vela pointed at the empty chair, and Fenris sat back down.
“Of course, First Inquisitor. My deepest apologies. I was so overcome with grief at what the Iron Wolf has done that I forgot myself.”
Vela’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t look like she bought his story any more than I did. Hope flickered in my chest.
“So you’re saying this girl’s testimony is fake?” Vela asked him.
“I’m saying the testimony isn’t even hers. It’s the General’s words in her mouth.”
Murmurs of unrest rose from the Court.
Fenris gave them a sad smile that was one-hundred percent fake.
“Don’t judge her too harshly, my friends.
Young minds are so easily corrupted. But she can still be saved.
We can save her. In fact, it’s our duty to save her and all the other Apprentices and Knights too.
They are magical. They are our kin. We owe it to them to unshackle them, to free them from their human masters who see them, at best, as tools.
” He met the General’s hard, unreadable face. “And, at worst, as slaves.”
Even from across the room, I could hear the General’s jaw crack.
“What are you suggesting, Prince Fenris?” Vela asked.
“What I suggest is this: we rescue the Knights from this world and the cruel Government that would seek to exploit them for their magic. I feel for these poor children.”
“Even though they have wronged you?”
“I forgive them. They didn’t know what they were doing. They were pawns in their Government’s scheme. They are victims in this, just as I am. And my poor mother was.”
Fenris dabbed his wet eyes. Wow, he was sure putting on a good show.
“That’s why we shouldn’t punish them,” he said. “We should protect them. They are like us.”
Many in the Court were nodding along to his words.
“We have a duty to these young people. I have a duty to them, for I have failed them most of all. I was here, interacting with the Gaians, watching them, all the while believing the General’s lies.
If I hadn’t, they would not have been forced to do such terrible things.
That’s why I vow—with the Court’s approval, of course—to henceforth be the protector that the Knights deserve.
I vow to take them under my care, to save them from their slavery, to help them heal from this trauma.
I offer them my kingdom’s protection and a place in my castle.
Let these poor children be free of this tyranny.
Don’t make them spend another torturous moment in this realm. ”