sir. I would like to call both Lord Cassius and Raphael Alvarez to the floor to speak to the Tribunal of their own accord before I make my final argument against Mygi taking custody of him,” I declared. “Will you allow it?”
“We’ll allow it, but only for Mister Alvarez. He’s due his moment in front of us since we’re passing judgment on his future. I’m going to assume Cassius has the same things to say that you do,” Callahan said, glaring down the table at Hasan. “You need to remember that you don’t speak for the entire Tribunal.”
“You would have let her go first if Ardghal had cut into your conversation,” Hasan countered. “Forgive me, though. It’s been a long time since I’ve sat with equals on this bench.”
“Forgiven,” Corissa said quickly, resting a hand on Callahan’s shoulder. “Let’s not get into arguments over this, friend. This is a serious matter that deserves our full attention.”
I caught the male witch rolling his eyes and wondered if the witches, for all their silence, always had such strong opinions about the other creatures on the Tribunal.
“Well, let Ardghal and I clear the floor so Raphael can speak.”
“I can’t believe this,” the fae beside me muttered, shaking his head, a dark look on his face.
I hurried toward my guys. Cassius was tense, but there was nothing I could do to relax him.
“Sorry, it looks like this is just going to be Raphael,” I said softly. “Raphael, you know what to say. Just…good luck.” He didn’t look worried as he stood up, adjusting the blazer of his suit. Cassius had gotten him one, and gods, it looked good, but I couldn’t sit there drooling over him all night. “You feeling good about this?” I asked as he started walking down the stairs to get to the center floor.
“No, but I know if this goes wrong, you and Cassius have my back. If there’s one thing I’ve learned since this started, it’s that you two are some of the best people I’ve met in ten years, and I’m glad to have that support,” he said, swallowing. “How bad can this get?”
“They won’t be able to take you anywhere tonight, no matter what, but depending on how this plays out, your future could get a lot more dangerous.” This wasn’t the first time he’d asked, but I gave him the same answer each time.
So could mine.
He walked past me, and I fell into the seat next to Cassius. We watched in silence as he stood alone in front of the Tribunal. One of the vampires waved for him to begin speaking.
“I’m certain Kaliya and Cassius can tell you everything that’s happened over the last few days. I just want to make it clear, I don’t want to go back to Mygi. What they did to me was against my will, and I have no intention of going back to their laboratories. If it’s decided tonight that I will, you will be forced to fight for it.” Raphael started walking, and I smiled. He was starting off strong. Since the Tribunal didn’t know what he could do, they didn’t know how serious his threat was. They would have to treat it seriously.
“I would like to avoid conflict, though. Before coming here tonight, Executioner Sahni and Investigator Cassius walked me through some of the Laws of the supernaturals. So, under the Laws you enforce and rule through, I would like to put my species in for consideration to join the Tribunal’s authority.”
“Excuse me?” Oisin snapped. Hasan started to laugh at the end of the bench. Callahan and Corissa were staring at each other with wide eyes. Isaiah, the male vampire, was sputtering, while the female vampire was frozen in shock. It was one of the witches who decided to speak up since Oisin didn’t continue his questions, and Raphael made no move to repeat himself.
“You wish to submit your species to the Tribunal,” the woman said in a whispery voice. “Bold. Brave. But we don’t know what you are.”
“There’s nothing in the Laws that say a species name is required,” Raphael answered. “I can call myself anything, and since I’m the only known member of my kind, it would be the proper name. I would also be the leader of my kind.”
“I’m going to assume your plan doesn’t stop there,” the male witch said with a note of amusement.
“No, it doesn’t. I would like to also submit my species to be protected under the Endangered Species Law.”