Tobias rises but stays in place. “Mr. Poe, did you plot, either by yourself or with Ms. Pond, to kill Domnall MacAteer the night you battled the Hunters?”
“No,” Julian states firmly, and truth rings through the word.
“To the best of your knowledge, did Ms. Pond kill Domnall MacAteer?”
“No,” Julian repeats.
Tobias bows briefly to the judges. “I’m done.”
At the judge’s nod, Julian leaves the stand and returns to our table, sliding into the seat next to me. While he looks calm and composed, a fine tremor runs through his body. The urge to comfort him has my arms lifting before I force them back down. No matter how much my cousin may need physical contact right now, this is not the place.
Victor Hesse stands once more. “Ms. Pond, if you will take the stand?”
My knees tremble for a moment when I stand, and I force my legs to stand firm and carry me with grace to the stand. I step up onto the short platform and find a stool waiting, its small, wooden seat promising discomfort. I nudge it to the side with my toe, choosing to stand instead.
When Victor Hesse walks over to stop in front of me, the cloying scent of rotting meat surrounds me. “Ms. Pond.”
“Mr. Hesse,” I acknowledge while trying not to breathe him into my lungs. I want no part of the mortifer demon inside me.
“Tell the court about the night of the Hunter’s battle.”
I repeat what Julian already recounted, leaving out everyone else who participated in the fight.
When I reach the part about the bomb and waking up in the draining cage, Victor Hesse holds up a hand.
“How did you end up in the draining cage?”
I frown at the interruption. “As I said, there was a bomb. It knocked us out.”
“But you’re a succubus.” Victor Hesse turns to the judges, his arms spread in confusion. “You have superior healing abilities. You were empowered enough to go as backup, correct? A bomb that didn’t destroy your corporeal form wouldn’t have kept you down long enough to be transported to a secondary location. Why didn’t you wake up, grab Domnall, and get out of there before they caged you?”
“It’s called chloroform, Mr. Hesse, and in heavy application, it keeps even a succubus down.” He’s not the only one who can be theatrical, and I give the judges a look that asks if I really need to waste time on this part of the story. “The Hunters were prepared enough to set up a trap that incapacitated us. Of course, they prepared to keep us down as well. They weren’t new to demon hunting.”
Victor Hesse turns back to me. “So, taken down by a human drug, you were transported to the draining cage where you remained for a full day, alone with Domnall.”
“Yes, surrounded by Hunter magic that had drained away almost everything that I had.” I narrow my eyes on the mortifer. “Hunter magic that only affected me. Domnall was perfectly fine and completely capable of defending himself. Which he informed me of before he gloated about how I would be torn apart to create new spells for the Hunters. He had no intention of helping me escape that fate.”
The scent of burning forests fills the air, drawing my attention to Tobias. Black bleeds outward from my catalyst demon’s eyes, blocking out the white, and I silently urge him to stay calm. We’d never talked about the finer details of my time alone with Domnall, and with him gone, it hadn’t mattered. I never expected for the past to be dragged out in this way, and I hope Tobias can control his fiery temper.
“How did that make you feel?”
My attention jumps back to Victor Hesse. “How did what make me feel?”
“Being told you’re expendable. That you would die horribly, the pieces of your essence spread out and used against your people.” He creeps closer, his tongue darting out to taste the air. “How did it make you feel to know you meant nothing?”
If he hopes to sample my anger, he won’t find it here. “It pissed me off, but as I said, I was drained of power, and we were trapped.”
“And then Mr. Poe arrived and helped you to escape.” Doubt fills his voice. “How, exactly, did he do that?”
“One of the Hunters came to take me away. After the threat was removed, Julian used a magic tool he had to disrupt the cage enough for us to crawl out. After that, we