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Nadine squeezed my hand harder. Here came the worst of it—the charges that could get us executed.
“On seven charges of first-degree murder, how does the jury find the defendants?”
Silence hung in the air for a beat, and I swore the entire room held their breath.
“Not guilty,” the juror read.
Relief flooded my entire body.
“On one felony count of attempting to overthrow the Imperium Council, how does the jury find the defendants?”
The juror hesitated, and not a single soul in the room moved. My heart hammered, and Nadine’s hand shook in mine.
“We the jury have determined the charge…” The juror took a deep breath, then spat out, “Inconclusive.”
The courtroom broke out into chatter.
“They can’t do that!” Lilian barked, pointing a finger at the jury.
Verla shot out of his chair. “Your honor, I make a motion to sentence these students to four years at the Darke Institute for Supernatural Offenders—”
Judge Calloway smacked her gavel. “Order! Order in the court!”
“This can’t happen,” Priestess Margaret insisted. “The coven prides itself in conducting accurate trials. We’ve never had an inconclusive case before. We must have a conclusive verdict!”
Judge Calloway smacked her gavel again to bring the court to order. “I’m aware of the legal proceedings, Priestess. You are correct—the coven always reaches a verdict, and we will not be ending that tradition today.”
She narrowed her eyes at Nadine and me. She had death in her eyes, and it became very clear that she wanted to see us hang. She lifted her nose, looking down at us like we were nothing more than dirt on the bottom of her heels. “If the jury can’t offer an official ruling, we will have to force a confession out of them. The modern way didn’t work, so we’ll have to resort to the old way.”
She smacked her gavel, ruling her word official.
Nadine’s eyes widened as she turned to me. “What does that mean!? The old way? They can’t—”
Nadine never got a chance to finish, because several officers lunged for us and grabbed us both.
“Nadine!” I shouted as they yanked us apart. The noxite bracelet they’d slapped on me before the trial drained all my power, and I couldn’t fight back.
“You can’t do this to them!” Verla protested. “Under Miriamic law—”
Several officers grabbed her, and they slapped noxite cuffs onto her wrists. They dragged her away from us, but stopped when Margaret stepped in front of them.
“What game do you think you’re playing, headmistress?” Margaret sneered. “You were supposed to incriminate them.”
I didn’t hear anything else they said, because more people came forward. The officers didn’t care—they let them right through. Executors grabbed for Nadine and began dragging her out of the courtroom. Chloe and Onyx shouted protests, and Helena screamed Nadine’s name. Someone grabbed me by the hair, and they yanked me out of the courtroom behind Nadine.
“Get the devices from storage. We’re going to need them all!” Judge Calloway shouted. I shuddered to think what devices she was talking about.
The mob pulled us outside into the darkness of night. They dragged us down the stairs at the front of the courthouse and threw us to the ground. I was shoved so hard that I landed face-first onto the concrete. Blood trickled down the side of my face, and my skin stung. Several people grabbed my arms and yanked them behind my back so I couldn’t get to Nadine.
“Stop! We mustn’t torture them!” someone shouted. I looked up to see it was Professor Loren, my Astrology professor.
“We want a confession!” Corbin shouted. He was one of the Tarantulas, and I saw that he was backed up by his entire gang.
The coven was divided, but the ones who wanted our heads were more ruthless. Someone yanked me upright, and I felt cool metal touch my skin, restraining me. I didn’t realize what it was until I saw them fit the same device onto Nadine’s face. It was a metal restraint that fitted around a prisoner’s head so they didn’t bite their torturers, much like a muzzle on a dog. We had a name for it—a witch’s bridle.
“You’ve brought shame upon your coven!” Leroy Benson spat in my face.
“Shame is a kind word,” Avery sneered, and the whole coven turned to listen to her. She pointed a finger at Nadine. “Nadine Evers is possessed by evil! She cursed me, and if she lives, she’ll curse us all!”
