Page 67 of Avaritia
Verner had led us through a maze of corridors that were exclusively for the guards to use, staring down any of the Guard who looked like they were going to object.
One member of the Guard was brave enough to approach, jogging up to us and giving me a slightly alarmed look. “You’re awake?”
“This is Evrin,” Tallulah mumbled. “He was the one who found you in the in-between. You were right outside the portal, you know. So close.”
I swallowed thickly, nodding at Evrin in gratitude. “Did they pause the trial?”
He grimaced. “My message was only conveyed to the Councilors, not announced to the room. They refused to delay.”
The sound of raised voices filtered through the door, and to my surprise, I realized that the one shouting was Damen.
“I need to get in there,” I demanded. If Damen was shouting at my mate, I was going to have serious fucking words with the crown prince.
Only I got to tell Theon off, and I had a list of complaints, starting with how dare he make me fall in love with him.
I basically threw myself out of Verner’s arms the moment the door was open, stumbling into a circular room with rows of benches filled with Shades staring down at me, and the four uncertain ex-Hunters and Shades that made up my little crew.
But I didn’t care about them. I walked with all the grace of a baby deer into the center of the room, my gaze transfixed on Theon. He dashed toward me with a pained sound, catching me in his arms before I hit the ground and pulling me in tight. The room disappeared around me as I shoved my face into his chest, inhaling the scent of him that I’d missed so much, wetting his skin with my tears. That I wasn’t instantly cocooned in shadows showed how hungry Theon was, though I didn’t think I had enough in the tank for him to even feed from right now.
If I did, he’d be getting a blowjob in front of all these stuffy assholes staring down at us, their opinions be damned.
“What is going on? Why are you here?” I asked, sniffling into Theon’s front. Someone was ordering me to move back, that I wasn’t allowed to be here, but I could already hear Damen yelling at them, so I ignored it.
Perhaps he hadn’t been telling off Theon. Perhaps he’d been defending him.
“Never mind that. You’re hurt. You need medical attention, they shouldn’t have brought you here.” Theon ran his hands carefully over everywhere he could reach without letting go of me, assessing every injury for himself. “Your scent…”
“I missed you,” I whispered uncertainly, the chill of rejection running down my spine. Maybe he didn’t want me here. I was the reason he was being put through this stupid trial in the first place.
“My love, life has not been worth living without you. But your health is more important to me than my selfish desire to see you.”
It was everything I wanted to hear, but there was more to it.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Theon hesitated, but before I could warn him not to lie, Allerick was there, speaking a truth too horrible to bear.
“The Council of Shades has found Theon guilty of the abduction of a protected ex-Hunter of this realm. They have sentenced him to death by a thousand silver blades.”
“What? No.”
I tried to spin around to face Allerick, but Theon held me firmly in place, gently guiding my chin up so my gaze met his.
“No,” I said forcefully, wishing my voice didn’t sound so shaky. “No. I don’t accept that. I’m here. I’m fine. Theon didn’t abduct me—”
He made a sound of disagreement, and I all but growled at him like a feral hyena. “I volunteered to go to Lindow with you!”
“The abduction in question refers to him claiming you as a mate against your will,” Allerick murmured. “The charge is enough on its own to warrant death, without taking into consideration your injuries, and the unsanctioned trip to the human realm—”
“I fell,” I shot back stubbornly. “Theon, you can’t seriously be going along with this shit. This whole thing is a joke.”
“Perhaps you could give your version of events to the Councilors, Verity,” Damen suggested loudly. “I’m sure they will be willing to listen, given that Verity’s well-being is the subject of this entire farce. I know I’ve given my testimony loudly and repeatedly about my experience of seeing the two of you the day after he gave you the mating mark.”
I startled at that, but the tone of Damen’s voice seemed to suggest he was on our side. I wasn’t entirely confident that I had made a good impression that first morning, but perhaps I was wrong.
“Of course.” I went to turn in Theon’s arms, still relying on his body to keep me upright, but his grip tightened just enough to keep me in place.
“Verity, you don’t need to do this. You can be free. You can start over.”