Ve'Rah Daa (The Ephemeral: Book 3)

Chapter 2

Siren approached the witness stand, her straight raven hair sweeping over her spine like a velvet cape. She wore black pants, knee-high boots, and a loose shirt over her swollen belly, but she'd left her pointy and lethal accessories at home today.

We all knew she didn't need them to radiate prowess.

"This Court questions your humanity and allegiance, Liam," she began, running a hand across the cherry mahogany box. "I'm going to ask you a few questions to enlighten the panel."

Will sat back, and even though his expression remained bored, I knew he was relieved to reach the cross-examination stage. Siren could hand-feed him questions now. He'd made it to the gentle, downhill slope of his defense.

"First things first. Did you partake in any of your father's war crimes before you fled for Ells?"

"No. I left when I was ten." His brow pinched, as if he were envisioning his father standing there before a chanting crowd, falling off a cliff of self-destruction. "I didn't want any part of it."

"What did you do whilst living in Belgate?" she asked, but she didn't bother looking at Will—she glared down the bench of pompous weeds, watching them writhe in discomfort. "Did you commit crimes? Steal documents from the Council? Bully your classmates? Harass Belgatian women?"

Gaines and Bittercress scoffed at the relative privation, but Will ignored them. "No. I attended school and worked as an apprentice for a carpenter. Then I attended training after work. For the most part, I tried to stay invisible."

And he'd done a wonderful job of it...except when it came to his swordsmanship. Even when he'd tried to be an average student, he'd still put the other trainees to shame.

The brightest stars couldn't be muted, even in a world blanketed in shadow.

Tearing her gaze from the justices, Siren pushed off the witness stand and sauntered toward the opposite end of the room, one hand resting on her stomach, the other supporting her lower back. "And when you fled during the attack on Belgate, did you leave your peers to fend for themselves?"

"I had experience navigating the Range, so I joined the group that sought to alert the Interior." His gaze swept over Mason and me, pupils swimming with mirth. "They required substantial assistance."

Someone snorted behind me—Torian probably—and I smiled.  Will wasn't wrong; we never would have survived without him. Forget fighting the Pans! I probably would have murdered Mason for burning my books, and without a hunter, Fudge and I would have starved to death before we ever set foot in Holly.

"What happened when you arrived at the military base?" the archer questioned.

"I was apprehended and locked in the stables for the night."

A few jurors shot Rover judgmental looks, and the two of us cringed at the memory. It felt like a lifetime ago when Tom had attacked Will for resembling the Rhean king, then sentenced him to a makeshift jail cell. Hours later, Beckett had informed me that someone in the company would kill the prince, and I'd all but suffered a heart attack.

"They locked you up with horses?" Siren reiterated. Her words bled with disapproval, as if she were hearing this all for the first time.

Will nodded, but a hidden grin danced at the corner of his mouth. "It smelled better than the barracks, to be honest."

Victor and Claus cackled behind me, setting off a few nervous titters in the gallery. Even the federates in the room cracked a smile or two, and Beckett grinned from the other end of the table, winking at Will in approval.