Page 61 of The Ashpaw: Part One

“My apologies,” she whispered instead.

Mauricia stuck beside her, strangely enough, as though she too had been called to meet with Darion.

The smug smile she wore had Fern more worried every step, the blood draining from her face so quickly she feared she might faint.

Sound became muffled, vision tunneled, and her breathing shallowed.

A firm hand on her arm kept her steady, and she looked up at the guard who now walked on her other side.

He stared straight ahead, pulling her and keeping her on her feet.

They reached the door, and the guard knocked. No greeting was necessary, because Darion had been expecting them.

“Enter.”

Fern was led inside, stopping short of the table, while Mauricia walked around her and joined Darion and Kyntha from where they sat on the other end.

One of the guards left, while the other stood a foot behind her.

The door closed, and silence fell.

No one spoke.

And Fern knew she couldn’t say anything to break the awful tension until they addressed her, so she waited, sweat pooling under her arms and down her back, her knees trembling.

Then Darion said, “Search her.”

Fern’s brows furrowed as the guard immediately wrapped his arms around her, and she found herself fighting the urge to fall back into his embrace.

This isn’t a hug, you idiot, she hissed to herself.

His hands dug into her pockets, pulling out her treasures and placing them on the table, and her eyes landed on them immediately to make sure they were all there.

The flake of obsidian

The bone shard.

The snail shell.

The broken tip of a quill, still stained black with ink.

The handkerchief they sat in…

And a pearl earring she’d never seen before in her life.

She looked up in horror, finding its twin in Kyntha’s ear.

“No…” she whispered.

“I told you,” Mauricia crowed, arms crossed. “When you mentioned you lost your earring at dinner, I went back to search for it, and found the Ashpaw under your table. She’s a disgusting little pack rat, as you can see. She stole it for herself.”

“I did not!” Fern blurted loudly, slapping her hands over her mouth as though that might shove the words back inside.

Darion seethed, his face turning red. “The evidence is right in front of us, Ashpaw. You dare lie to me?”

Kyntha clicked her tongue softly. “It’s a compulsion with this one, I’m afraid. I don’t think there’s any curing her.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “I swear it, I did not take the earring. I wasn’t even near the head table!” She then fell to her knees, wincing at the sharp pain as she landed hard on the stone, and clasped her hands together. “Please, Alpha Darion, you have to believe me. I have no idea how that ended up in my pocket!”