Page 191
Ranthus suppressed her voice.
“Let her speak,” I barked, stomping to where he loomed over Rae.
The short bastard would put her in a position to feel small when she stood several inches taller than him.
“Young Master, she spouts nothing but lies. I will not permit her to warp your minds any further.”
I grabbed the front of his robe and hauled him into my space, growling more than speaking, inches from his face. “Let. Her. Speak.”
Ranthus cleared his throat, and a cramp seized my hand, forcing me to release him. He staggered back, straightening his robe.
“How dare you harm an heir,” Ezra said, approaching us.
“Your status holds no weight in this situation, Young Master.” Ranthus eyed Ezra. “Your father has authorized me to subdue anyone who would prevent the capture and detention of the human—you four included.”
Zeke tried to step forward, but Cyn held onto his arm. “Did she try to speak in the kitchen?”
Ranthus peered down at Rae, disgust simmering in his crimson eyes.
“He asked you a question,” Cyn hissed through clenched teeth. I’d never seen him so out of control.
“Yes, Young Master, she did.” Ranthus turned to glare at Cyn and Zeke.
Cyn’s eyes widened before he looked away with a grimace.
She hadn’t been silent because of guilt. She couldn’t speak.
Zeke’s voice broke when he said, “Rae.”
Rae’s eyes welled with tears when he looked at her.
“As I said, I won’t permit her to warp your minds. You aren’t acting like Elyrdin’s exalted heirs and it’s all her doing.” Ranthus turned to Roandra. “Why bring them here? This only aggravates their condition. We protect the heirs; we don’t harm them.”
Roandra approached Rae’s cage. “Yes, Brother, you’re right.” She peered down at Rae; her face twisted in revulsion. “However, her hold on them is powerful, and I worried what would happen if they didn’t see her before trial.”
Cyn scoffed. “I knew something was wrong with her from the start.”
Zeke looked back and forth between Rae and Cyn, confusion marring his brow.
Rae’s neck strained as she shook her head from side to side, hair falling over her face.
“Rinlora has already gone to see the council about your return,” Ranthus said, stepping away from the cage. “Come. I’m sure they are eager to see you home again.”
Zeke didn’t move when Cyn and Ezra turned to leave. “What’s going to happen to Rae?”
He sounded helpless, but today’s events had shaken my reality to the core. I could barely muster the strength for myself, let alone him.
“She is to be executed in four days’ time.”
Ezra and Cyn both froze, turning slowly toward Ranthus. Their unmasked rage mirrored my own.
“What? Why?” Zeke looked from me to the guys and back to Ranthus. “You said a trial!”
Rae thrashed in the cage, straining against her bindings, but I knew her efforts were futile. Her chains were magical.
“Enough of that.” Roandra held a hand over the cage. Rae collapsed, all signs of life gone. “Now she can sleep until we’re gone.”
“The trial is a luxury for our people. Humans should not be afforded such rights, but the council begs to differ. Your father”—Ranthus looked at Ezra—“believes that if word were to spread that this human didn’t receive the same justice, when her kind keeps our city stable, it would reflect poorly on the monarchy.”
