I Am the Wild (The Night Firm #1)- Karpov Kinrade Page 0,69

of murder. There are times it can be justified. But how can you ever justify rape or hurting a child?"

He nods. "We are selective." He shrugs. "Usually. But we do believe everyone deserves to have someone in their corner. We can't always ascertain guilt or innocence. Part of our job is to uncover the truth. The rest is to make sure our client isn't unfairly sentenced, even if they are guilty. The guilty were all innocent at one point, and many of them became monsters because of what was once done to them."

A voice in the hall interrupts us. "Time to go!" Liam.

I stand, as does Derek. "One more question," I say, laying a hand on his arm before he opens the door. "Would you have taken on Dracula's case if he hadn't compelled you?"

"Yes," Derek says.

"Why?"

"Because the prosecution isn't objective when it comes to him. They have a long vendetta against him. I don't believe he'll get a fair trial in this world, and I believe he deserves one, regardless of who he is."

The door bursts open and Liam is there looking smoking hot in a scarlet cloak and golden vest. "Time to go. Can't be late. We've been assigned Judge Dath’Racul."

"Shit," Derek says, under his breath.

"What's wrong with this judge?" I ask.

"He's the fire dragon. If you think Liam is hot-headed, wait until you meet Dath’Racul."

Liam scowls at Derek at that, but I just smirk. "He's not wrong," I tell the auburn-haired fire Druid.

"Let's just go. We're already on bad footing with him from that Leprechaun case."

"Leprechaun? I'll have to get more details about that later."

The four brothers and I, carrying leather satchels with legal briefs and papers, squeeze into the carriage and Lily drives us to the courthouse. "Where's Dracula?" I ask.

"He's meeting us there," Sebastian says.

This is my first time in this part of the town, but I know the courthouse the moment I see it. It's the tallest building I have ever seen, dome-shaped, made of gray stone, stained glass windows throughout. You could fit several baseball stadiums and a couple of high-rise buildings into the structure and still have room to spare.

"It's huge!" I say, gasping.

"That's what she said," Derek quips, and I nearly choke on my tongue.

"That's some serious teenage boy humor for an immortal and wise vampire," I say.

He shrugs. "We have to stay relevant and current with the times." He winks at me, and I flush.

Elijah speaks without looking up from the book he's reading. "It has to be this large to accommodate not only the judges, but also all manner of creature who may need to come to court. About 100 years ago the giants petitioned the doors be made larger, because though the dragons can fly in from the top, the giants had a hard time getting in through the regular entrance. It was a whole drama that eventually resulted in the building being remodeled. Now everyone is more or less happy, though some of the flower fairies complain it's too big and they get tired trying to find their way. You can't please everyone it seems."

The carriage is silent as we pull up to the front. The doors are made of stone. Everything is stone. No wood. I assume because of creatures who breathe fire or burst into flames.

Elijah finally looks up and smiles. "It’s time.”

We pile out and make our way in. I idly wonder who opens and closes these doors each day, but then I see that one of the guards is a an actual giant and my question is answered. He towers over us, easily the size of a tall tree, and I can barely make out the features of his face. "Are you carrying any weapons, magicks or forbidden items?" the giant booms at us.

"No. We are here for the defense," Derek says.

"You may enter."

The space within is just as huge as it seems from without, and has benches of varying sizes, presumably to accommodate all manner of creature.

I try to take it all in as the brothers rush us to our courtroom. We travel through long hallways with impossibly high ceilings until we reach our destination. It's set up more like a throne room than a courthouse, though there are nods to the latter with the defendant's box and jury box.

I already know from my reading that the jury selection is different here. The judge chooses the jury based on a pool of interspecies candidates who have been given legal training and have