and pure earthly beauty, sat in the middle of a raised dais. As one, the Council members took their seats. Above them, a beautiful statue burst from the wall like a figurehead on the prow of a ship.
Celeste. Her face upturned, her half-open eyes stared into the future. A rose-gold crown dipped across her forehead, her stone hands cradling a platinum harp wrapped in golden roses and vines. As if she were caught in a perpetual wind, her long dress fluttered outward.
Her harp and crown were the only remaining artifacts of her existence—one of the most powerful gods to grace our continent, and it wasn’t hard to see why. Emerging from the wall above her head was Ocnolog, an ancient dragon that once preyed on the people of Wilheim. Eyes shut in peaceful slumber, his thick neck curled around his master.
Dragging my gaze away from the masterpiece, I returned my attention to the Council. Yazmin sat in the middle throne reserved for the Crown. To her right, Kaori, Raven, and Eilan, the longest-sitting member. Appearing molten gold, his stern gaze burned into my chest. To Yazmin’s left, Tristan and Gaige. Tristan leaned forward, pressing his elbows to his knees, and steepled his fingers together.
The empty chair next to Gaige dominated my vision.
Wynn. The fog of his charm had faded, but there were still lingering tendrils in my mind. Wisps of uncertainty and muddled thoughts that made it hard to focus. Who knew how long that would last—or whether I’d ever fully regain the days he stole from me.
My fingers trembled, and Noc glanced down at me before gently squeezing my hand. Wynn was gone. Noc was here. Everything was fine. Safe.
Biting my lip, I steadied my erratic breaths and forced my gaze to the waiting Council. A Nezbit sat to the side of Yazmin’s throne. Its long ears formed sizeable feathered wings that stretched outward to the ceiling, and the extremely rare rabbit beast studied us with unblinking intensity. Teal feathers shivered along its haunches.
Yazmin leaned forward, her mercury cloak open to reveal her black high-necked dress. “All right, Leena. We’re all aware of your first transgression.”
“Alleged transgression.” I couldn’t help myself.
Yazmin’s smile was kind. “Alleged.” Ears twitching, the Nezbit straightened. Yazmin reached down and rubbed her fingers along its scalp. “Nessie can help with that.”
Noc shifted closer to me, shielding me partially from view. “What does the beast do?”
Stepping around him, I pressed a hand against his chest. “She listens to your heart. Right now, she’s familiarizing herself with our cadences. She’ll then be able to detect when our pulse races, determining lie from truth.”
“Though we won’t be able to do the same with Wynn,” Tristan mused.
“Is Leena’s word not good enough?” Noc demanded.
Tristan ran his fingers along his scraggly beard. Harsh brows angled down toward the bridge of his curved nose. “You want me to make a ruling without hearing both sides?”
Noc simmered. “You did before.”
I didn’t know much about Tristan, other than he was rugged and difficult, and entirely dedicated to nature. He would have valued the Gyss’s tale above my own any day.
Eilan leaned forward, his baritone voice vibrating from deep within his chest. “We’re listening now.”
Raven placed a hand on Eilan’s leg. Cloak rolled past her elbows to reveal skin the color of a desert storm and inked forearms, her deep-red symbol sparked with the promise of power. Her fiery eyes targeted Noc. “Mika was hurt because of you.”
Warning bells sounded in my ears. Raven was a new member. The sheer anger in her voice caused me to pause and reminded me that Wynn had been working with a woman. Someone whose motives I couldn’t quite grasp, but that I knew weren’t good.
My gaze riveted to the emblem gleaming on the back of her hand. Noc had said the bounty had been placed by someone with a red Charmer’s symbol. It couldn’t be a coincidence. But there were hundreds, thousands, of Charmers living in Hireath. Which meant she likely wasn’t the only one with a shade like that. And even though Wynn had hinted that the woman was on the Council, I needed proof. More concrete details.
A heavy fog settled in my mind as I tried to recall the memory. What exactly had I heard? Something about a spell? My thoughts were slippery, and I struggled to remember what had happened before I’d been charmed.
“You slaughtered my people.” Noc’s voice was cold as ice. “I think injuring one beast is a pale comparison at best.”
Raven