Finally, after a few of her generals got in the rowdiest people’s faces, the area quieted down enough so that Kael could speak.
“I am sure that many here are expecting me to denounce these accusations. But I cannot,” Kael said simply. “I did everything that you suggested. But I did not do them willingly, and I deeply regret my actions.”
Cyrene breathed a silent sigh of relief. Despite his appearance, he sounded just as he always had. And that smooth speech settled the crowd.
“As you may or may not be aware of, I was under the evil goddess’s influence since I was a child. My father gave me her black book, and I was pulled into her thrall. Everything I have done since then has been under her guidance. I could no more stop the pull than fly. But Cyrene…the Domina Cyrene,” he corrected smoothly, intimately speaking her name, “she saw that there was more to me. She saw that I was not all that Malysa had made me. I was ordered to kill both my wife, Queen Elea, and my child, Princess Alessia, but I couldn’t do it. I hated sending them away, but I wouldn’t let harm come to them. And the Domina knew then and there that there was still goodness in me.”
Cyrene kept her face blank, even as he spoke directly into her heart. His words a lull just for her.
“She purged the blood magic, and from then on, I did all that I could to fight Malysa. I stood at the Domina’s side as she took on the evil goddess. I killed her second-in-command, Merrick, and went head-to-head with the woman who had enslaved me. If that doesn’t prove that I have changed and that I have changed sides, that I want to do better and live a clean life, then I do not know what will convince you,” he said honestly.
Once they got the crowd to quiet down again, Cyrene nodded. “I can corroborate that the king did help me fight off Malysa. That he wanted nothing but to end her reign. In the end, he turned sides. But he couldn’t have done that before I purged the blood magic, which I have done for all those who were still infected.” Cyrene turned to her court. “Do you have any further questions?”
Gwynora narrowed her eyes. “How do we know that you changed sides because you want to do good rather than just to save your skin?”
Kael met her hardened gaze. “I suppose you don’t. But I could have run at any time, and I didn’t.”
“Is your soul fractured still from the blood magic?” Avoca inquired.
“I don’t know,” Kael admitted. “I know that the blood magic sucks from my soul. I also know that Cyrene’s light saved me from completely fragmenting into nothing. If I’d gone completely over the edge, there would have been no coming back.”
That’s not entirely an answer, Sarielle cut in. We should look into your spirit and see if you are of sane mind.
“I have already done so,” Cyrene interjected. “He is fully intact mentally. As for his soul, I don’t believe he would be here right now if he didn’t still have it.”
Of degrees though. What would a person be like with half of a soul?
No one had an answer for that. This was unprecedented territory.
“Half of a soul is better than Malysa’s influence,” Kael said.
Aubron had remained quiet until then. “Did you order the destruction of Fen?”
Cyrene winced. She didn’t know who had destroyed Aubron’s home. She didn’t want to know if Kael had been involved in the ruination of her utopia.
Kael looked puzzled. “What is Fen?”
“It is…was a small village on the northern border of Byern. North of Levin.”
“It was destroyed in the war?” Kael asked, clearly confused about how this was connected.
“Yes, burned to ash,” Aubron said hollowly.
“I know most of my territory, but I have never heard of the village of Fen. Many of the smaller villages go beyond the royal perception. They live their own lives, and we leave them alone. I am sorry to hear it was destroyed, but I had nothing to do with it.”
Cyrene looked into his eyes, waited for the spark of deception. But he truly didn’t even know that Fen had existed. He didn’t know that Kaliana and Alessia had been hiding there.
Aubron nodded as if satisfied. He glanced at Cyrene and mouthed, Malysa.
She tipped her head at him in acknowledgment. It had to have been.
“Any other questions?” Cyrene asked.
The rest of her court shook their heads. Thankfully, the crowd remained silent. Everyone was hanging on with bated breath to see what would happen.
“Then we will vote on whether Kael is guilty or innocent. Each court member will get one vote. If you believe him to be guilty, please put forth your preferred sentencing. I will give you a few minutes to deliberate, and then we will begin.”
Cyrene swallowed as the silence stretched. She didn’t know what the outcome would be. Whether or not Kael had convinced anyone. Or if his charges were too severe. And, worst of all, she didn’t even know how she would vote. What she could possibly sentence him to. How she could decide when he was still staring at her with those big blue-gray eyes. As if he knew every churning thought.
Too quickly, time passed, and her court was ready.
Gwynora stepped forward first. “I vote that King Kael Dremylon is found guilty on all charges. I recommend that he be put to death at noon by sword.”
Cyrene swallowed as the crowd cheered their agreement.
Aubron came next. “I vote that King Kael Dremylon is found guilty of all charges. I recommend that he be…sent into exile where no one will ever hear from him again.”
Exile. Cyrene hadn’t expected that. Not from Aubron after all that he had lost.
Sarielle tipped her head up next. I agree with Court Member Gwynora. He is guilty, and he deserves to die by whatever means necessary for the lives he has stolen.
That, however, didn’t surprise Cyrene in the least. Sarielle saw everything in black or white, good or evil. And Kael settled squarely on the evil side.
Avoca took one step toward Kael. She released the sling around her arm and revealed to the entire crowd the blackened stump of her arm and the ombré as it slid up to her shoulder. “Malysa is to blame for what happened to me. She is the real villain in all of this. Before my injury, I would have killed you myself. But now, I see how her darkness creeps into you.” Avoca tilted her head. “Kael is guilty of all charges. He has already admitted as much. But I believe he should be sent away into exile. To lament what he has done but no longer rule over anyone or anything. A king of nothing is a fitting punishment.”
And so the final decision came to Cyrene. As it always did. Two for death. Two for exile. She was the tiebreaker.
She looked at Kael. At the man she had saved. And the man who had hurt her over and over again. And the man she had kissed so passionately a year ago as he drowned in her. He was a duality. Death and life.
She raised her hand once more. “I vote exile.”
The crowd roared its disapproval.
“In three days’ time, Kael Dremylon, you will be sent away to a place of our choosing. You will never again be able to return to Byern. Your titles, lands, and all wealth are hereby stripped from you. If we hear of your plotting against us, exile will be forfeited, and you will be killed.”
Kael smiled and nodded his head at her. As if he had known all along.
And then, through the shouts of disapproval, Cyrene heard the sobs coming from the center in the back. She looked to find Elea in tears before she ran away from the proceedings. Cyrene’s heart burst for her…but there was no other option. This was as much as she could do for her sister, the former queen of Byern.