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It was suddenly an offense that the man was breathing the same air as his mate, that he was looking at her. The fury Barros had shown when he first saw her had grown each second she spoke.

“Alessandro, you’re icing the Hall,” Stone hissed from beside him.

He didn’t care. Couldn’t care. His woman was in the line of fire from that piece of scum and taking care of her was the only reason he existed.

Rowan snapped her gaze back to him, and he faltered.

“ I’m okay. ”

It was what he needed to ground himself.

He relaxed his grip on his chair, cursing when it snapped off.

Once again, she skirted the fact that she was the Blessed by alluding that the Dragon King called forth an unknown being and had the man cleansed. Historic magic, she called it, proud and awed, and he knew she still couldn’t actually believe she’d done it.

King Kyron helped her down from the podium, his eyes shining with emotion Alessandro found he couldn’t read as well as he could usually do with others.

But Rowan smiled and motioned to the podium before walking away.

Already known as the Bloody Elf, King Kyron was infamous, but he’d never given speeches as he would for Judgement.

It was short, sweet and efficient, but there was so much appeal that he’d passed down to his daughter that Alessandro heard a few sighs of longing.

Rowan snickered at his side when her mother gave a huff of displeasure.

When Harris was called forth, he and King Kyron took each other’s forearms in the same greeting Alessandro had seen Kin exchange with the man.

When he sat, Rowan asked. “You know Knox?”

“He came looking for you when you were recovering. His daughter, Marissa, was apparently insistent. She gained your mother’s favor, and we hosted him for a couple of nights.”

Rowan scoffed and turned to her mother. “Since when are you good with kids?”

“Since it hit me. I’m really going to be a grandmother.” Annabelle pouted, digging into her husband’s side much like Rowan had done with her mate.

“ Are you going to tell me what’s going on between you two? ” He asked, attempting nonchalance as he noted the annoyance that passed through Harris when he locked eyes with Rowan.

She sighed, and while Harris Knox spoke, she sent the story right to his head.

Alessandro couldn’t help the grin. “ You should know by now that you can’t thwart the mating feeling.”

His hand caressed her shoulder to prove the point.

She melted into his side. He could stay there in that seat forever if she kept touching him and using him as a support. “ Yes, but we were both pretty damn stubborn about it and even when we both knew it was inevitable, you gave me the choice. Louisa deserves it too. ”

“I received another one of your memories.”

Her eyebrows raised. “ What, which one ?”

“The one of you in that cage.” He tightened his grip on her hand. “ I didn’t really know what I was asking of you when I asked you to Cleanse him. When they convict him, I plan on volunteering to be the one to execute him. ”

“To be fair, I didn’t tell you. ” She tightened her own hold on him. “ If I could ask, could you let someone else do it? Now that we know Cherry is testifying, she will definitely bring up rage lus t.”

The words were like a hollow gong in his head.

“I’m still not convinced it was the best idea not to bring it up ourselves.” He said.

“ I think you’re just not accustomed to allowing Stone to take the lead. If he’s your heir, you‘ll have to trust him. ”

“So if I run Barros through-”

“It will look like vengeance, like you’re trying to shut him up.”

“So who do you think should do it?”

Rowan’s chin pointed towards the new Coven Elder as Juliana helped her to the stage. The Brazilian Knot Alpha had green hair and a black sheath dress reminded him of her form when she shifted.

The Elder’s face glowed when light bounced off the several sets of scars. She sent Barros a frosty glare, her nose flaring when he leaned back in his seat, as if her presence was inconsequential.

Julianna shot Alessandro a slightly anxious look before she found her way back to her seat.

Cherry Young wasted no time in beginning her testimony.

“On June 15th, Antoni Barros’ chain of command marked him in the Northeastern Chapter of the North American Coven branch.

Three months later, after walking out of a monthly meeting with RLK’s Rowan Dahl—or as she is now know, Queen Consort Rowan Dahl of the Draconian Thunder—I fell into a dropped phase, a spell thought to be exclusive to Faerie denizens until I ran into the one created by Antoni Barro.

He kept me inside a nulling cage for roughly two weeks.

In that time, he used methods of torture to accumulate more power than he’d already had.

Under the impression that I had already taken command as Elder of the Coven, he tried experimental and deranged forms of magic to retrieve the gifted magic the position brings.

He grew more and more frustrated with each failure.

Compounded with the interference of his plans for the shifters, he began losing control.

Rowan Dahl seemed to become the focus of his rage and I became the outlet, each beating a further unraveling of the man who’d brought me there.

During one round of mana extraction, he talked to himself.

His motivations for the attacks became crystal clear. ”

The rustle of clothes and chairs was sharp, as everyone seemed to lean in to make sure they heard Cherry’s next words clearly.

“About four years ago, a lynx shifter suffering from an uncommon condition known as rage lust killed his fiance, Tali Jessum. He told me this as he dug a needle into my vein and pumped me full of a potion that was supposed to make my magic easier to syphon off.”

Her arms shook and her head bowed as she took a moment to compose herself.

Alessandro could smell the salt in the air as his mate was once again crying at his side. He brought her closer.

Across the room, he caught sight of Dae Kang at the table she’d left. His eyes were closed, arms and legs crossed as an attempt to stop himself from getting up, clearly so angry that if he did anything else, he would make his way to the platform and run a knife through Barros.

“That was the night Rowan Dahl popped up in that second cage. If you’ve had the unfortunate experience of trying to get Rowan Dahl to behave a certain way, you would know that it’s impossible.

But to cow her into obedience and fear, Antoni Barros used the information he’d gathered through my beatings and targeted her greatest weakness—her everlasting need to help others.

He nearly beat me to death. I had already accepted my fate until I woke up in the care of the Eastern Elven Kingdom’s best physician team.

I was under surgery for two days as they tried to undo everything Barros had done to me.

They had me as close to the condition that I’d been in before I fell into that trap.

The only evidence remaining are these scars on my face and my vow as the new Coven Elder to denounce this witch and his actions.

There is no room in our organization for those who do not prioritize helping those who cannot help themselves.

It is the core of the Coven and I vow to refocus our attention on that idea during my time in the role of Elder. ”

“She didn’t mention the rise in rage lust cases. ”

“No. She didn’t. You made the right call, Stone. ”

“I could have made the wrong one. She could have made us look like we were hiding something.”

“ Then we would have dealt with it. We just have to get through Barros’ confession and hope he’s as close to a breakdown as he sounds. Don’t focus on what could have been. Stay in the present moment. ”

“ Right. One step at a time .” Stone’s use of the words Alessandro had always repeated to him brought him a calm he couldn’t have imagined.

One step at a time. If Stone decided he didn’t want to be king, Alessandro would hear him out and one step at a time, they would figure everything out.

Gently, he squeezed Rowan’s hand.

“I agree.” He said to Rowan. “ She should be the one to do it, if she wishes.”

Dae Kang didn’t make eye contact with Antoni Barros as he took the podium.

His story was brief and factual, as if it was a waste of his time to be away from Cherry’s side.

The only new piece of information he gave was a recounting of his realization that Barros had set an illusion over the entire Coven and that while the wolves lost control, he’d interfere with a few close calls when the others weren’t looking.

Hye Kang got through with his testimony, shining a light on how Barros ordered him to replace the fake nemes headdress that the Sphinx Lair had been using for centuries with the real one.

Antoni Barros retrieved the genuine article from the pit at the base of the lair, retrieved by Antoni Barros himself.

Hye admitted that Abanoub’s wife had been unaware the trade had occurred.

That she was the first victim without ever realizing she’d been instrumental in her own demise.

The mixture of sorrow and relief in the Sphinx Alpha was palpable in the air.

Tensions were high when the guards moved Antoni Barros from the platform to the podium. His gaze rested on Rowan and Rowan alone.

She was still curled into Alessandro’s side, giving the impression that his glowering look had no effect on her.

It infuriated the man, and he took the momentary opportunity of when the minotaurs were about to attach the shackles to the podium to run towards her, emerald eyes wild.

Alessandro, Kyron, Naseem and Stone all reacted reflexively, all shooting to their feet. Rowan was faster than them all. From her seat, she threw a spell of gravity that had him pinned to the floor.

“You ruined everything, you fucking bitch!” He screamed as the minotaurs retook his chains and dragged him back to the podium.