Chapter 214: You’re gonna die in this house 1
HAZEL
I stood there long after she left.
The corridor felt smaller without her in it, like the walls had edged closer the mont her footsteps faded. My hands were still wrapped around the bars, fingers aching from how hard I had been gripping them. I did not rember when I started. I only knew my palms were slick with sweat and the iron was starting to get cold enough to sting.
What does that an...
The words kept repeating in my head, ugly and sharp.
What does that an...
I turned toward the sentinel who had been stationed just beyond my cell. He had been pretending not to listen, pretending not to see, but there was no hiding the way his eyes had followed her as she walked away.
"Call my mother," I said.
My voice sounded thinner than I wanted it to.
He did not move.
I straightened, forcing my spine into the posture that had always served . "Did you not fucking hear ? Call my mother."
He looked at
then. Really looked. There was no urgency in his gaze, no rush to obey. If anything, there was only disdain. It was barely masked, but there.
He turned and started walking away.
"You stupid fuck," I snapped. "Did you not hear ?"
He stopped but did not turn around.
"I was told to keep watch over you," he said. "Not be your personal servant."
The words hit harder than they should have.
"How dare you speak to
like that," I said, heat flooding my face. "I am the daughter and a Luna of this pack."
The sentence died halfway out of my mouth.
Luna...
The word echoed hollowly in my head.
I was no Luna.
The realization landed slow and heavy, like sothing settling where it could not be dislodged. That title had been my shield. My leverage. The thing that made people lower their eyes and swallow their words. And it was gone now.
The sentinel turned back to
then, eyebrows raised slightly, waiting.
Waiting for
to finish.
Waiting for
to say sothing else.
But there was nothing else.
My throat closed around the words that refused to co.
He scoffed softly and then walked away.
The sound of his boots faded down the corridor, each step a reminder of what I no longer had. I stood there frozen, staring at the empty space he left behind, my mind scrambling for sothing solid to hold onto.
Fia was right.
The thought crept in uninvited and stayed.
My pride was gone. The way people looked at
had already changed. No one rushed to my side. No one whispered reassurance through the bars. No one cared enough to pretend.
They had never loved .
They had loved the title.
And now that it was stripped away, so was everything else.
I did not know how long I stood there before footsteps returned. I flinched when the sentinel reappeared with keys jingling in his hand.
"The trial is on again," he said.
He opened the cell and grabbed my arm. His grip was not gentle but it was certainly just as cruel. It did not matter. My body felt numb as he dragged
out.
The corridor blurred as we moved. Torchlight flickered past. Faces turned toward , so curious, so indifferent. I could not read any of them. I could barely feel my feet hitting the stone beneath .
The doors to the council chamber opened.
The sound rushed in all at once. Voices. Shuffling. The low hum of expectation. My heart started pounding again, sharp and frantic, as if it had been waiting for this mont to remind
it was still there.
They shoved
forward.
I lifted my head as I was forced to stand before the elders one last ti. The circle lood above , familiar and terrifying in equal asure. I searched the faces I knew best first.
My mother sat tall and composed. Her expression was calm in a way that made my chest loosen just a little. My grandmother beside her looked almost bored, her fingers folded neatly in her lap. My father’s shoulders were relaxed, his jaw unclenched.
Relief washed through .
Why was I so terrified? I would survive this.
I knew it the mont I saw them. The smiles were subtle, but they were there. The elders, on the other hand, looked strained. Tight and cornered.
Which was good for .
The lead elder cleared his throat.
"We reconvene regarding the last accusation," he said. "This concerns the case of Luna— Apologies. This concerns the case of now Gamma Hazel Hughes in regards to the murder of Sentinel Milo Ashford."
The words rang through the chamber. I kept my face neutral and my breathing steady. I had practiced this. I knew how to stand. How to look repentant without conceding anything.
I let my gaze drift then, just once, and it landed on her.
Fia stood among them. She was not seated, but she managed to be as present as a thorn. In that way she has that drew my attention against my will. She was smiling.
It was sickening to look at that wide, unapologetic grin.
My stomach twisted. Because... Why was she smiling?
What did she think was so funny?
I looked away quickly when my pulse started to spike.
I told myself she was a wack. That smile did not belong here. And she was just pretending to have so ace. But what could she even have?
Everything was finally settling back into place.
Then I noticed soone else.
A man stood near the Lily of the Valley delegation. I did not recognize him. He was tall and composed. The most telling part was how his presence despite being quiet was undeniable. His eyes were the first thing that caught .
They were erald green.
They were fixed on
at first, sharp and assessing, and for a fleeting mont I wondered if this was it. I wondered if this was him. My salvation. The heir of the Lily of if the valley pack perhaps. The one ant to smooth this over and make it disappear.
Then his gaze shifted.
It moved past
and landed on Fia.
It was haunting how his eyes stayed there.
The way he looked at her made my skin crawl. It was not hunger exactly. It was sothing deeper. Sothing intent. Like he was studying her, morizing her and drinking her in.
The lead elder’s voice pulled
back.
"We have evidence," he said.
My fingers curled at my sides.
"Damning evidence," he continued. "That you, Hazel Hughes, did connive to kill Milo Ashford because he threatened to expose your wrongdoings."
The room seed to tilt.
My chest tightened and my breath started coming shallow.
"Because of that," he said, "you are guilty as charged and must be appropriately punished."
I waited for the reprieve. The pause and the pivot.
My heart kept thudding as I watched the elder swallow.
"But given the recent circumstances, a beheading would be barbaric."
There it was.
Relief surged through , sharp and dizzying.
"However," he went on, "you will be punished. You will be excommu—"
"Forgive ." Fia’s voice cut through the chamber.
Every head turned.
She stepped forward, her expression suddenly serious, asured in a way that made my skin prickle.
"An excommunication from this pack is beyond cruel," she said. "Not for Hazel alone. But for our parents."
The lead elder turned toward her, irritation flickering across his face. I could see the words forming on his tongue, sharp and dismissive.
Then the green-eyed man spoke.
"I agree."
The word echoed louder than it should have.
It is cruel the power he carried because two words from him let the whole hall fall into complete silence.
I stared at him, my heart thudding so hard I could feel it in my throat.
When I looked at my grandmother, she looked tense. So that told
that this was not in the script.
The sickening feeling in my gut grew heavier.
The lead elder straightened, schooling his expression. "What would you suggest is fair?"
Fia did not hesitate.
"Sothing that allows her to rember the sanctity of life," she said. "Sothing that still gives her a community at the end of the day."
She turned slowly, letting her gaze sweep the room before it landed at .
"And sothing that shows the sentinels and the Ogas of this pack that Silver Creek, although cornered, can still be fair."
The elder nodded, thoughtful.
The green-eyed man spoke again. "The Lily of the Valley concurs."
My breath caught.
"...It is all we want really. Justice that is not barbaric."
The words rang in my ears.
This man.
This was supposed to be my way out.
The realization hit hard and fast. Why did it feel like; he had not co for ... why did it feel like he had not co to save ... Why the hell was he watching Fia like she was the axis everything turned on?
I felt suddenly cold.
The elder drew a breath, preparing to speak again, and for the first ti since I had been dragged from my cell, fear wrapped fully around my spine.
What had she done?
What had she planned?
And why was everyone suddenly listening to her?
Was it because of him?
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