Page 89
Draxon waits beside me while seven empty thrones hold the chamber captive.
The Matrons have been deliberating since morning. Storm-light has crossed the black floor from one gallery to the other, turning crimson sigils silver before leaving them dark again. Nobles remain in their tiers. Servants stand behind them with lowered eyes. No one risks departing before the Council decides which power will survive this hearing.
Korgath remains beneath the eastern gallery under guard.
His household accounts lie sealed on the abandoned Council table. The metallic scroll bearing Asmodeus's revisions rests beside them. He has spent the wait pacing between two pillars, his black armor scraping stone whenever a guard forces him back inside the marked boundary.
The red left eye seeks me each time he turns.
I stay beside Draxon.
No legal bond protects us. His exile is suspended, not erased. My status remains Council disposition, an elegant phrase for property awaiting another owner. Draxon's hand hangs near mine without touching it.
The distance between our fingers is smaller than the power gathered against us.
The deliberation doors open.
Seven Matrons enter.
The storm-court rises. Wings close against scaled bodies. Horned heads lower according to rank. Humans kneel along the walls, though no order was spoken.
Zira mounts the central platform.
Her ivory carapace reflects the red sigils beneath her feet. Silver-white hair falls behind carved horns. She carries her dark metal staff upright, its tip hovering above the stone until the other Matrons take their thrones.
Then she strikes the floor.
"The Council of Seven has reached its decision."
Her amplified voice travels through the chamber walls.
Korgath stops pacing.
Draxon remains motionless beside me. I cannot read his response beneath the control that once made prisoners fear him more than the executioner's axe.
Zira lifts a sealed section of the ledger.
"The records presented by Beatrix Ferryman have been authenticated against original merchant tallies, eastern platform registries, household accounts, and witness marks. The discrepancies are neither accidental nor isolated."
Korgath steps toward the platform.
"The records were purchased by a human seeking to save her owner."
"The source of evidence does not alter whether it is true," Zira says.
The words return Beatrix's earlier argument to him without mercy.
Zira turns toward the galleries.
"Korgath concealed restricted off-world trade beneath the marks of lesser houses. He used the proceeds to settle private debts and purchase support for a Council accusation. He then invoked royal purity law to remove a rival while concealing his own violations of Crown authority."
The three minor lords named in the ledger stand under separate guard near the northern wall. None looks toward Korgath now.
"The Council finds Korgath guilty of conspiracy against the throne, unlawful smuggling, corruption of house records, and bribery of titled witnesses."
Noise breaks across the galleries.
Some voices demand the names of every trader involved. Others call for the accused lords to be thrown from Galmoleth. A Soz'garoth merchant shouts that the eastern platforms must remain open until his registered goods are released.
