Of course, it is all in my head that I have the upper hand. I couldn’t have done a stupider thing by reminding everyone that I married Constantine if I tried. I would have been better off standing on my own two feet, as it were.

“Of course,” Dmitri says through gritted teeth, just to get the proceeding back on track. “Aefre Allington, nee Coortan Aquila for her crime of creating a Rogue Vampire far beyond anything we have borne witness to over the centuries.”

I gulp.

He makes it sound so bad.

And, of course, it is. Thinking of Gustav makes my heart ache. I hate what happened to him, but it wasn’t my fault.

Sadly, I am not given a chance to protest. Dmitri drones on about how I turned Gustav and then left him locked up in a castle for over a decade to go feral and mad and lose all of his humanity.

You know the story, so I will save you the boredom of rehashing it. Instead, I will just tell you that after an hour, by my calculations, we are still talking about it. Or at least they are still talking about it. I haven’t even got to my objections yet. It is at this point, where I have drifted off, when Dmitri clears his throat and I blink. Everyone is once again staring at me, this time expecting me to talk.

“My turn?” I ask caustically.

Dmitri gives me a filthy look and nods once.

“I object,” I say quickly to get everyone’s attention.

“You can’t…” Clementine interjects.

“She can,” Dmitri interrupts. “This is a fair trial.” The emphasis does not go unnoticed, primarily by me. Fair my arse. I have been railroaded. Worse, been made an example of. Doesn’t matter who you are, if you defy the laws you will be punished. I get it. I do, but me? Why is it always me that ends up in hot water? That is not fair.

“Aefre?” Dmitri presses, as I have once again glazed over, and my mind has gone elsewhere.

Snap to woman! Jesus, this is my life on the line.

“What happened to Gustav wasn’t my fault,” I start and of course I get sneers, barbs and the such like hurled my way.

“It wasn’t!” I stamp my foot like an insolent teenager, and it gets me nowhere. “Lance was wholly to blame for that.”

“Lance? Did he turn Gustav?” Clementine asks, her voice raising an octave along with her eyebrows.

“Well…no…” I stammer.

“Then the blame falls wholly at your feet, my dear.” The smug smile is back, as is the flashing of my ring as she directs it straight at me.

My confidence drops even further…if that is even possible. Seeing the ring just seems to make everything worse. Not to mention my arms are screaming with the strain of being held in such an unnatural position. I have to decide which is worse. Holding them away from the cuffs or dropping them again to burn for a short while so I can recover. My arms decide for me and before I can stop them, they drop, and everyone hears the hiss that escapes my lips and the stench of burning flesh as my wrists once again hit the cuffs.

They all try to ignore it, looking away and shuffling their feet. All, that is, except Clementine. Her nostrils flare and I swear I see her stifle a giggle. Sadistic bitch.

Oh, I see exactly what Constantine saw in her now. A like-minded soul. It makes me want to vomit, but it all gets me back on track.

My turn to drone on.

And I do.

Despite my mouth, as dry as the desert, I go on and on listing all of the reasons why I couldn’t get back to Gustav. And I mean all of the reasons. I see the pity and the uncomfortable glances, but at the end of the day it won’t make a damn bit of difference. I know that. Still, CK said to stall, so here I am stalling with the best of them.

Red-faced and almost choking with humiliation, I come to the end of my sad story. There is nothing left for me to add. I look at Dmitri. He is avoiding my gaze, naturally. He knows. But won’t do anything about this witch-hunt.

“Do you have anything else to say on the matter?” he asks after clearing his throat again.

“No,” I say in a voice so low it sounds like a whisper.

“Then we shall move on.”

“Move on?” I inquire. “I don’t understand.” I look to the rest of the court and now that my pity party is over, they are out for blood it seems. Evil grimaces and loathsome glances pass between the Vampires and I swallow loudly. This will be the part where I get lynched for Constantine’s behavior, I presume.

Tags: Eve Newton Fantasy
Source: readsnovelonline.net