Chapter 32
AMRI
I try to calm my racing heart and frantic nerves. Losing my position on the Council, I can live with. Losing my magic, losing my beast … I’m not sure I will survive that. But what worries me most is the gods using my magic to restore—or at least partially restore—Leonora’s power.
Absolutely not. I think I’d rather die and take my magic with me before letting the deities hand it over to her.
But out of all of them, Fisk would be the most likely to listen, with their propensity towards empathy and compassion.
I try to peer around the giant shifters surrounding me—Malik’s family treating me as if I’m already one of their own.
Stars, I hope we get the chance. Placing my hand on Malik’s shoulder, I bury my fingers in his thick fur, getting lost for just a moment in the subtle pattern of his black spots.
Then Malik’s voice vibrates through my mind as well as everyone else’s in the room. “My brothers and I had to use the power of Helios’ magic in our blood to restore our clan after Leonora attempted to drain us all. ”
Makara, the god of the Capricorn clan, taps his finger on his silver chair. “Surely you exaggerate for our sympathies.”
Malik’s body vibrates under my hand, but before he’s able to respond, a voice shouts from the Leo section. “It’s true. I would have lost my beast had Malik and his brothers not intervened.”
Makara turns his gaze on Leonora, but she just shrugs.
“I would have restored it eventually. I was teaching them a lesson.” Her eyes narrow, and her shoulders bunch.
“But why am I explaining myself? They are mine. I don’t care and I certainly don’t ask what you do with your shifters, Makara.
This enforcer has been found guilty. Let’s get on with it. ”
Malik crouches, every muscle strung taught. His brothers as well as Askari and Alexandros do the same as Malik barks. “Touch her and Leonora won’t be the only one in the room needing to watch their backs.”
Several deities turn angry stares on Malik, a few stand in indignation, and Aries tries to look bored even as he sends fleeting glimpses towards Alexandros.
Curling my fingers, I press my touch a little firmer into Malik’s fur. “Thank you, mate, but we have a very important conversation that still needs to take place, so we need to try to leave this place alive.”
My dangled insinuation does the trick, and Malik goes still, not even a single strand of fur twitching as he takes in my words. Then, with a small dip of his head, he says, “I’ll follow your lead, mate.”
I take a deep breath, stand tall, and project my voice. “I accept my punishment but beg a request from the Zodiac.”
All the deities except Justice sit back down, but more than half still hold anger in their pinched eyes. Justice’s feathers flare as he gestures at me. “And what is your request? ”
Fenrir, the god of the Scorpio clan, pounds his fist on the arm of his chair. “Surely we’re not going to entertain her request? She’s guilty, and this has drawn out long enough.”
My beast thumps her tail. “So sorry to inconvenience you, asshole.” I smirk at her, but keep my face blank as I jump in, not waiting, because I will be heard. “Do not give my magic to Leonora. That is all I ask.”
My palms start to sweat, and my insides roil as my wolverine whines and tries to curl up small inside me. “Please, don’t let them kill me.”
My heart tears in two, and I nearly clutch at my chest at the pain that shoots through me at the mere thought. “I’m doing my best. We have to tread carefully here.”
Leonora flicks her hair over her shoulder. “No. What was stolen will be returned to me.”
Malik’s tail flicks as he asks the gods, “And if it had been my hand, or the hand of any of the Leos, that struck the blow that took Leonora’s power?”
Justice shrugs. “That would be a different matter … a clan matter. But it wasn’t.”
For the first time since being summoned, I flick my gaze to Mara. The pity in her eyes has my hands curling into fists, but my anger is wasted. I knew the risks, and Mara made it very clear from the beginning that should I be caught, she wouldn’t go down with me. Still, I had hoped …
Straightening my spine once more, I hold Mara’s gaze, hoping she reads the defiance in my posture.
“Then let me say this to the Zodiac deities. Check in on your clans. Because if they are faltering, if they are drowning, and they feel they can’t come to you for help, you leave them very few options.
And a trapped animal is a dangerous thing. ”
Mara hangs her head as Malik presses his body against me and purrs .
Fenrir scowls at me. “Was that a threat, Enforcer?”
I shake my head. “A warning.”
Aries clears his throat, and Baran, his representative, jolts as if on cue.
He steps forward, just shy of the barrier, and clears his throat.
“The Aries clan acknowledges a deviation from today’s trial, but this female’s statement aligns with our request. The Aries clan formally calls for a meeting of the Zodiac in one month's time to discuss expanding the terms of the Council’s duties to include, but not limited to, providing safe shelter for shifters in need, as well as monitoring the collective strength of the clans. ”
Aries meets and holds Alexandros’ gaze, and through my stunned shock, I want to kiss the mountain lion shifter for whatever role he had in this.
Malik nudges me with his shoulder. “No kissing other males, please.” I clutch Malik’s fur with a quiet chuckle in his mind, and he returns the small laugh as he adds, “But I agree. Alexandros deserves a big kiss … just not from you.”
“You gonna do it?”
He huffs, but we’re pulled out of the brief moment of levity as Taryn snaps a sharp look at Aries. “What is this?”
The flaming god manages to look relaxed and amused even with the blend of shocked and enraged looks aimed his way.
“I was there, in Leonora’s palace. And while I’ll admit the idea of the Council poking their nose in my clan business does rankle, we can’t run the risk of one of us going a bit off the rails and destroying an entire clan in a moment of …
passion, and in effect cause the collapse of the Zodiac as we know it. ”
My beast snorts. “A moment of passion?”
Gema scoots to the edge of her yellow chair, clearing her throat. “I second the motion. I was there as well.”
She turns her gaze to Justice, and when his features remain blank and unreadable, she raises a brow until the god of the Libra clan finally sighs and says, “I witnessed the attempted draining as well, and I third the motion. We will reconvene here in one month.”
I stare at Mara, and we share an open-mouthed expression, but then a small smile lifts my cheeks, and she returns it with a nod. This is what we’ve been working towards. It’s far from perfect, and the motion hasn’t even been passed yet, but it’s a start.
Selene, the goddess of Cancer, speaks for the first time, her voice laced with impatience. “Can we get on with this trial please?”
I take an automatic step back as all the deities stand and raise their hands towards me.
I told myself I’d be brave if I ever had to face this moment, but every ounce of strength drains out of me, and my knees nearly buckle as I tremble uncontrollably.
Malik braces me, purring to try to comfort me, but it’s not working.
My body glows gold, and then eleven strands of glittering magic unravel from the center of my being and into the outstretched hands of the gods.
My beast scrambles inside me, climbing my mental walls, looking for an escape that isn’t there. “No. No, please.”
Tears fall down my face as I clutch her tightly in my mind.
“I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I’m so sorry.
I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m—” My sobs cut off my words, and I fall to the floor, barely feeling the crack of my knees against the marble.
Magic streams out of me, and my wolverine’s struggles get weaker as I clutch my chest and scream.
I can’t do this. I wish they’d just kill me.
Without her, without my beast, I’m … I won’t survive this.
I can’t. It’s too much. She whimpers, her little paws twitching, and my screams morph back into sobs.
I can’t breathe, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters .
Strong arms wrap around me, holding me against a muscular chest. Malik’s hands press to the back of my head and on my spine as he nuzzles my hair with a thunderous purr.
But no amount of comfort can take this pain away.
Not even from an alpha. Not even from my alpha.
As I gasp around another sob that threatens to hollow me out completely, I register a different resonance vibrating through Malik’s chest. He’s speaking, but I can’t make out the words.
My beast blinks her eyes from her prone position, her breaths so shallow I can barely feel them, making my own inhales equally as difficult, but then she whispers, “Alpha.”
I force myself to listen as Malik continues to speak—seemingly on repeat—against my hair. “—more than enough. Breathe. I’ve got you, little warrior. I have more than enough. Breathe. That’s right. Good girl. I’ve got you, little warrior. I have more than enough.”
Through the pain, I look up into his brilliant green eyes as his words sink in.
He’s feeding his magic into me even as the Zodiac deities continue to siphon it away.
As grateful as I am, I push my palms against his bare chest, but he doesn't budge. I cough and sniffle around the phlegm in my throat. “Don’t. Stop. You’ll end up drained too. Please.”
Malik just smiles and pulls me back against his chest, kissing the top of my head.
His magic continues to pour into me, and then another hand presses to my shoulder.
Bodi. Another to my other arm. Rian. A warm palm lands on my calf.
Alexandros. A gentle hand skims down my spine, right under Malik’s touch.
Askari. The five shifters push their magic into me, filling my well almost as quickly as it’s being emptied.
The tug-o-war goes on for what feels like hours, and I vaguely register voices of different deities throwing out statements or complaints.
The horrifying sensation of my magic being sucked out of me doesn’t change, but neither does the rush of Leo and Sun magic into me.
And I fight with them, holding on to my power, clinging to my beast with all my might, because while I recognize my guilt, I’m only willing to pay so much.
The floor shivers under me, and I wonder why, but then Malik nuzzles my hair and whispers, “Look, little warrior. My clan stands with you.”
The magic of the five males around me never falters, but as I lift my head, my mouth drops open in awe and tears spring back to my raw eyes.
The entire Leo section is empty, every shifter now down on the floor with us, with me.
Hands reach out, resting on the males touching me, and those that can’t reach directly place hands on shoulders of those around them until we are all connected.
I gasp at the rush of magic, silent tears of gratitude falling down my face.
And then the painful pull lets go. For a moment, I’m overflowing with magic, and it blazes from my eyes and makes my hair stand on end.
Slowly, the shifters around me pull back on their own magic, and I stabilize.
Malik takes my arms and puts just enough space between us for him to nudge my nose with his. “Amri? Are you okay? Is she …?”
My beast pushes to her feet and shakes out her anxiety with a little chirp. I nod, Malik’s face blurring with my continued stream of tears. “She’s alive. Thank you.” I try to raise my voice, but it cracks. “T-thank you all.”
Virgil’s voice cuts through the moment. “It seems the Leo clan has spoken.”
As Malik helps me to my feet, keeping an arm banded around me, Justice looks at all the gathered Leos before nodding. “It appears so, and since this crime was against the Leo clan, we accept their collective judgement. ”
I stay still as stone. Is this really it?
I get to keep my magic? But then of course Leonora’s bellow shatters my hope, and through the crowd of Leos, I see the goddess flailing her arms, her face red.
“No! Their opinions mean nothing! I am the Leo goddess. That magic is mine! Justice, do your job!”
The Libra god frowns down at Leonora. “I am. You brought these charges against this Enfor—this shifter, and your clan has absolved her. The scales are balanced.”
I notice how he balked at my title, and I have a feeling my moon and stars tattoo is gone, but I really don’t care right now, because all I can do is watch as Leonora stalks across the floor, shoving Leos out of her way until she reaches Justice, and without breaking stride, she rears back and slaps the god right across the face.
You could hear a single piece of fur hit the floor with how silent the room is.
Leonora’s entire body trembles, maybe from realization of what she just did, but by the set of her shoulders, it’s pretty clear that rage is ruling her actions right now.
Justice glares at her with a look that has me wanting to flee far and fast, but Leonora just hisses.
“How dare you. All that talk about the Zodiac collapsing? Without me, the Leos will fall anyway. Give me back what is owed, and everything will go back to how it was. Isn’t that what we all want? ”
Aries holds out a hand toward her. “Leonora, love?—”
She throws up her arm as if to slap him away. “No, Aries. I’m right, and you know it.”
He frowns at her, slowly lowering his hand to his lap.
“No. Not this time, love.” Aries looks over his shoulder at Baran, once again mind-speaking with his representative as evidenced by the slight dip of the ram shifter’s head.
Then, with a sigh heavy with emotion, Aries stands and approaches Leonora.
She backs up, shaking her head, but he doesn’t stop as he says, “I agreed to let you call this trial because laws were broken, but my love, your clan has spoken. Please, let me …” Leonora stands with wide-eyes staring at Aries’ outstretched hand.
My lungs burn as I hold my breath, waiting to see what will happen next.
If I wasn’t at the center of this drama, I’d find all this quite entertaining.
Leonora’s shoulders slump, and in the blink of an eye, Aries sweeps her into his arms.
Flash! Pop! The two disappear.