CHAPTER 25
VALLENNAN JUSTICE
The presiding judge in all High Council trials shall be appointed from House Caldris.
– Vallennan Judiciary Code, Article I
Two guards came for her at midday.
Cade wasn’t with them. That was some relief.
One Thorne soldier actually guided her gently.
They let her walk between them without hands on her, crossing the courtyard of the Hall of Justice under the midday sun.
As she passed through the doors, she looked up at the stone archway above.
There, carved deep, was the sigil of Vallenna itself: two hands clasped together, a symbol of the City’s founding alliance. The creed declared:
Unity Above All
She almost laughed.
The chamber was vast, lined with pillars of polished white stone, its high ornate ceiling painted with scenes from Vallenna’s history.
At the end of the room sat the seven Council seats on a raised dais.
Only six were filled. Kara noticed with a jolt that Tobias Thorne’s chair sat empty.
Above them, a severe-looking man sat robed in pale blue.
A Caldris judge – as was custom. He was flanked by two Caldris scribes, their enchanted quills already recording the proceedings.
The public gallery rose on tiered seating on either side of the chamber, and every seat was full.
The atmosphere was hushed and tense, citizens leaning forward on their benches, clearly eager to see her for themselves.
Her cheeks flushed, but she kept her gaze forward.
The guards stopped her at a plinth in the centre of the room and flanked her on either side.
Her wrists were chafing and sore, arms aching, but she looked up at them defiantly.
The judge stared down at her. There would be no mercy from him – not after she’d left their golden son bleeding and bound in a forest.
Caldris wouldn’t forget that.
His voice was cold, efficient. “Confirm your name for the record.”
“Karalynna Hale,” she said, steadier than she expected. But her hands trembled against the plinth.
“You stand accused of high treason contrary to the Arcanth Accords, the unlawful assistance of a known traitor–”
Traitor? Please stop calling him that.
“–the unauthorised possession of sacred relics, and of causing magical harm to the land of Vallenna. These crimes carry the penalty of death. Do you understand the charges?”
Kara swallowed. Her hands shook worse than ever, sweat beading on her palms. “Yes.”
“You are here to answer the questions put to you by the High Council. They will consider the evidence you present and deliver their verdict. I will decide the sentence, if required. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Do you plead guilty or not guilty?”
She hesitated. Neither word fit. She’d done it, and didn’t regret her actions. But guilt, to her, meant malice. And there had been none of that. They’d wanted to save Vallenna, not harm it.
Finally, she lifted her chin. Tried to ignore how her heart raced.
“Not guilty.”
Deep down, she knew it wouldn’t save her. But it was the truth. And today, that was all she had left.
The judge nodded once. “Proceed.”
It was Galen Caldris who leaned forward first, hands clasped before him. “Are you the Karalynna Hale who was sent by this Council to capture Sebastian Thorne and secure the Arcanth Shards in his possession?”
“Yes.”
“And did you do this?”
Yes, and I shouldn’t have.
“I did,” she said at last. “But then I saw why he did it.”
Simone Navyr scoffed faintly. “Go on.”
Kara drew a breath. “He had a vision. The Arcanth called to him – showed him what’s coming. Draknor are returning. He believed uniting the Arcanth Shards is the only way to stop them.”
Merrick Durent spoke next, low and disbelieving. “So you committed treason based on a man’s dream?”
He’s risked everything for you, and you’re mocking him.
“It wasn’t a dream.”
“The Arcanth has not spoken in generations, Lady Hale. It seems... rather unlikely that it truly called to Sebastian Thorne,” Elias Lyra said.
“It did,” she insisted.
“You believe he’s telling the truth?” asked Evelyn Sorrel, her dark eyes sharp. “Thorne are not blessed with visions. Perhaps he lied to you to make you let him go.”
“No. I saw his mind. It was no lie. It was the Arcanth itself.”
He only wanted to protect Vallenna.
“How? That is not your gift,” Evelyn asked.
“Henry Caldris taught me.”
There was a long silence, broken only by the scratching of the quills.
Then Elias spoke again, voice low. “And what of the cost? In the time since those Shards were taken, storms have torn through Hale, earthquakes in Durent, floods in Navyr, in Lyra. People have died.” He leaned closer. “Do you believe it was worth it?”
Kara faltered. “I believe... doing nothing would cost more.”
“And yet you acted without authority,” Merrick Durent snapped. “So did he. That is not courage. It is arrogance. Recklessness. And now we are weakened because of it.”
“If it is true, what you say,” Simone said. “Why didn’t Sebastian Thorne tell the Council of this vision? Report it to us in the proper manner?”
Kara stared directly at her. “Would you have believed him? Allowed him to remove the Shards?”
An awkward silence fell. Everyone knew the answer.
“Visions are not proof,” the Caldris judge said calmly. “They show what might be, not what is. To act on them without evidence is reckless.”
“No, this was different–” she began.
The judge raised a hand. “We will now hear testimony from Lord Henry Caldris, if he will speak.”
A rustle in the gallery. Henry rose slowly from the benches, shoulders square, and stepped to a second plinth to Kara’s left. He didn’t look at her.
“You were assigned to the same mission? To retrieve the fugitive, Sebastian Thorne?” the judge asked.
“Yes.”
“And what happened?”
Henry cleared his throat. His voice was clipped, neutral. “Lady Hale carried out the mission with skill and courage. She placed Thorne into an enchanted sleep. He was bound and guarded. I left to gather food. When I returned... she had freed him.”
A louder murmur moved through the room. Heat prickled across Kara’s skin.
“And did she say why?”
“Yes,” Henry said. “She said we didn’t understand. That he wouldn’t hurt us. That he was trying to help Vallenna.”
Merrick leaned in. “And what did he do next?”
Henry’s jaw tightened. “He knocked me unconscious. Tied me with nightshade. By the time I came to... they were gone.”
Kara’s breath caught. Hearing it aloud, reported like that, made it sound worse. Colder.
After you wouldn’t listen to reason. After you blinded me.
She wanted to shout it. But what good would it do? He finally looked at Kara. Something passed between them. A flash of a feeling she couldn’t name. Regret, maybe. Or just pain.
The judge’s voice came again, clear and emotionless. “And is it true that you taught her mind magic, Lord Caldris?”
Henry nodded. “Yes, she was quite gifted at it.”
The judge glanced at her. Then back to Henry.
“And do you believe Lady Hale was acting of her own free will?”
Henry hesitated. His gaze lingered on her before he turned back to the judge.
“Yes,” he said. “I do.”
A ripple of shock swept the chamber.
The judge nodded once. “So noted.”
Kara didn’t move. But inside, she ached.
Her father’s voice cut in sharp and edged with desperation. “Is that true, Karalynna? Did you go with him of your own will, or did Sebastian Thorne force you? Did he threaten you? Tell me. Now. In front of all of them.”
Kara met his gaze. His face was carved from stone, but this was one last chance – the grim hope that she would give him something to work with, something to save her.
She hesitated, looking instead towards the gallery.
To her mother. She was sitting near the front.
Pale dress, pinned hair, hands clasped in her lap.
Her tears ran silently down her cheeks, and she didn’t wipe them away.
Their eyes met – and her resolve faltered.
For a breath, the weight of it nearly crushed her.
The shame. The heartbreak. The fear. Her mother’s sorrow hit her harder than all the Council’s accusations combined.
She could still lie. Say he had threatened her – it was technically true, though he hadn’t meant a word.
It would be easy – he forced me. Used his magic.
She could say that she was scared, even now, to speak out against him.
They’d spare her. Let her go home. The words were right there. The tip of her tongue.
“He–”
But then she thought of Sebastian.
Fighting his way through Thorne soldiers for her. Bleeding for her. Tied in nightshade in the dark and dragged away so they wouldn’t slit her throat. Him screaming her name.
No. He deserves the truth. He deserves someone to stand for him.
She tensed her legs to stop herself from shaking and straightened to her full height.
“No,” she said firmly. “He didn’t force me. He would never. I went with him because I believed him.”
Her mother sobbed the moment she’d said the words but Kara couldn’t look at her.
“And you were on your way to take the Fire Shard when you were captured, is that correct?” Galen asked.
Kara didn’t flinch. “Yes, that is correct.”
Gasps. All around her. The whole room recoiled at her words. She couldn’t help it, she looked at the crowd. Rows of faces blurred together, all a mixture of fear, anger, disbelief. But one caught her eye.
Sienna.
She wasn’t glaring like the others. She didn’t look disgusted, or certain of Kara’s guilt. She looked absolutely terrified for her.
At least not everyone is convinced that I’m a traitor.
The judge’s voice pulled her back. “Lady Hale, do you have anything further to say before the Council passes its verdict?”
She raised her chin. “You keep calling Sebastian a traitor. But he’s the only one doing anything to stop what’s coming. And if none of you can see that... then you’re all fools.”
A shocked silence followed. No one moved. She met every one of their gazes, defiant.
“There is no proof that anything is coming–” Galen began.