Falling in Love with the King of Beasts

ELIA

Her eyes were still grainy and achy because she'd barely slept. Her hands shook because she was terrified of what was going to happen to Reth.

He stood to her right, quivering with tension. They hadn't even been allowed to greet each other before the judging began. She longed to touch him, to make sure he was okay after the events of the night before. But there was nothing in her that would let her do anything but scream the truth at the lines of Leonine before her—both male and female—waiting to hear her answer the accusations that had been brought.

"This process is simple," Brant said quietly. "You face four charges, each of which could individually impact your throne. So we will ask you one by one and you will tell us what you know. You will be scented for truth, Sire, do you do understand?"

"Absolutely." Just ask the damn questions.

Brant nodded. "The first charge is that you knew the Anima, new of them, prior to the Rite and may have had some hand in your own selection as sacrifice. What say you?"

"False," she spat. "I didn't learn that the people I knew as a child were Anima until I came here and found someone familiar. Then it came out. But by that time we had already been through the Rite—and through the Smoke and Flames."

Brant's eyes were flint. "Who did you recognize?"

She swallowed. "Reth."

The people before her were mature Anima who had seen life. They weren't given to emotional reactions. But even within them she saw some blanch.

"Please explain."

"I can't," Elia said honestly. "I didn't know him when I saw him. But over the first couple days, I kept getting this sense of the familiar when he would do certain things. I learned later it was because we knew each other as children—when he was sent back to my world by his parents." She took a deep breath. "He was so changed, and it had been so long… I doubt I would ever have recognized him. I just kept feeling… familiar. And safe with him. Which made no sense under the circumstances. But… that's how he made me feel when we were little."

One of the women spoke up, her face skeptical. "You knew the King when he was how old?"

"For two years, beginning when he was ten. He hadn't been through his adolescence yet."

"He was big, even then," Aymora said quietly.

Elia nodded. "And I was younger than him, so he seemed even bigger to me. As I said, we were friends. He always made me feel safe. Something in me recognized him when he would… do certain things. But my mind was never able to make the connection."

"Were you aware of any of this on the night you were brought from your world, for the Rite?"

"None," she said emphatically. "It took days for me to relax enough to even realize I felt comfortable with him."

"Were you aware of being assessed at all, during your time in your world. Did you have any known contact with anyone working with the wolves, or the wolves themselves?"

"None," she repeated. "I was utterly innocent when I woke up at the Rite."

"And yet, you brought a weapon?"

Elia almost laughed. Almost. "I did not. I was dressed in a traditional style for my world for a semi-formal event. The shoes I wore were called high heels. They are for beauty, not for use as weapons. The fact that mine acted as one was… a fluke. I woke up in the Rite and was so frightened, I didn't know what to do and didn't think. I climbed the tree with the shoes still on and it never crossed my mind to take them off. I notice no one is concerned about the clothing I wore that night, despite everyone else being only painted?"

"We do understand that human traditions are different," Aymora said. "And the histories say that humans usually arrive at the Rite clothed."

"The shoes were clothing. That is all."

The men and women leaned into each other, whispering among themselves. Brant and Aymora glanced at each other, but didn't speak.

"The resistance you made, which declared Lucine incapable… had anyone advised you to take that course? Were you aware of the implications of it?"

"Not at all!" she said, her frustration bleeding through.

Brant leveled a gaze at her that, if she had been any less certain of the truth, would have had her knees trembling. But she held it and didn't look away. "I fought for her life because it went against my principles, the traditions of my world, to kill someone who was no longer a threat and was incapable of defending themselves! I didn't even know it would have any negative impact on her until later when Reth and the others explained it to me."

Brant rubbed his chin. "What of this taunting Lucan mentioned. Have you approached her or done anything to harm her since?"

"I have no idea what Lucan meant when he said that! You can ask Gahrye, or the guards who were with me: I've done nothing but be kind to her… twice!"

Huncer sat up straighter in her chair next to Brant's. "What do you mean, you were kind to her?"

"Both times I saw her, we were out on the trails. She looked like she was struggling—especially the second time. I greeted her and offered to speak with her, told her I wanted to help her—"

"You offered to speak with her? Alone?" Brant asked, his voice tired.

"Yes! I didn't want to make anything more of a struggle for her. I wanted to help. But she refused me. Both times. I never pursued her, and I definitely never taunted her."

They discussed the details again, whispering, and Elia cursed her normal hearing that wouldn't allow her to pick out the words. She knew that Reth was able to by the way his face tensed or relaxed, depending on what he heard.

He caught her looking and winked, but his heavy brows were furrowed and the tendons on his arms stood out because he clenched his hands so hard. His heart wasn't in it.

Finally, Brant turned from the discussion and gave Elia a dark smile. "We are mostly likely agreed, but there is one aspect to clarify. Because it seems to this Tribe that the problem lies not with the Queen. But with the King."

Then he turned to face Reth and his grim smile faded completely. "Gareth… stand to testify for the sake of your mate. And stand to answer before the Tribe the accusation of treason."