The Rise Of The Morningstar (Eng. Version)

Chapter 63 - Endgame

"Jace," I interrupted in a cutting voice. To my surprise, he actually stopped talking, although he didn't seem happy about my interruption.

"What?" Both Jace and Imogen looked at me. Imogen had clearly hidden her feelings behind a mask of sternness and authority, but you could tell she cared when her own grandson spoke to her like that.

"This is neither the place nor the time for such a conversation." I pointed my chin up to the doors and the two of them followed me silently with their eyes.

The Inquisitor's guard had gathered at the entrance to the Clave chamber. Without hesitation, they marched in a closed formation between the rows of benches, their uniforms disheveled, their hair tousled, and their weapons at the ready. If they had seemed grim to me earlier in prison, they now truly looked menacing. Definitely upset that the Cohort had made a spectacle of them like that. In their midst trotted six men and boys. Blake's friends. They all still looked intact. Most unfortunate.

"She's right," Imogen remarked quietly, watching her guards descend the steps. "We'll sort this out later. The process is a top priority now."

I didn't wait for Jace as I walked past the podium to the right bench. Some faces I knew had already taken a seat there. The woman from yesterday's escort who had returned to the Ashdowns' estate with us and seen it all with her own eyes. And next to her sat Isabelle. Her dark pupils were fixed on me. Widened, as if surprised to see me. Neither of us said a word for a few seconds, then she moved to the side and I sat next to her, Jace in tow.

I felt Isabelle's sideways glance at me, but no sound came from her lips. She wore a formal black robe and had her usually wild hair pulled up into a serious braid. Not even her normally bright red mouth showed any color today. Although she was a natural beauty even without the makeup, she appeared pale.

It was only a while later, when Blake's followers had been herded onto the left bench by the guards and someone had slammed the double doors on the upper level shut, that I realized that Isabelle might have been shocked by what I had done yesterday. Even though she had defended me from the Inquisitor after we had returned from the estate, that didn't mean she hadn't realized later, after all the adrenaline had left her body, what a monster I was. Maybe she had slept on it one night and decided that my impulsive desire for revenge was inconsistent with her morals.

Just as I was beginning to fear that our friendship might be lost because of what I had done, she suddenly cleared her throat. The Inquisitor had already started speaking, but I didn't seem to be the only one not listening to her. "I can't believe you're still alive," Isabelle whispered hollowly.

"What do you mean?" On my right, I felt Jace lean towards us, as if he wanted to listen to Isabelle's words.

"I keep seeing this huge pool of blood," she murmured tensely, the words coming so quickly that I had trouble understanding them. "Even with the Iratze, I can't believe that you survived this blood loss. It makes no sense."

"I know." It was all I could offer. "I don't understand it either."

To my surprise, Isabelle reached for my hand. Her warm fingers wrapped around mine. She had a firm, stabilizing grip. As if you could survive any storm if you just held on to her. Like she was strong enough to hold everything together. After a moment of hesitation, I squeezed back. My mother and Jonathan were the only people I had ever shared this kind of touch with.

"Blake got his punishment. Today, it's the other bastards' turn." She sounded confident. That calmed me down.

A murmur went through the crowd, and we automatically raised our heads to see what was going on. Surrounded by several heavily armed guards, Malachi was escorted into the hall through a back entrance. He had his chin raised almost defiantly, not paying any attention to our bench as he passed us. His hands were in chains. The former Consul looked like a felon and even his accomplices quickly backed away on the bench to keep enough distance from him as he sat down.