“That is correct,” states Brennan, his voice booming out over the courtroom speakers.
“But you have no proof of this?”
“He would have come to the Aurelian Empire if he was innocent, your honor. We’d have been locked away already.”
Taggar considers these words, pausing. He stands still behind his podium, not even speaking.
My father is the one who jumps up, sputtering:
“If you beat a merchant half to death, he would have been too scared to tell the Aurelian Empire what had happened! You’re employed by the Empire! How was he to ascertain that you weren’t under orders to injure those who don’t do as you request?”
There’s a murmur through the crowd. My father makes sense.
“If you’re willing to kidnap a man’s daughter to make a deal,” he accuses Brennan, “what else are you capable of?”
His voice wavers, taking on an artificial formality. He’s at his breaking point.
Lieutenant Taggar lets my father finish, and he doesn’t admonish him for his outburst. My father sits down, breathing heavily. I can see his chest puffing from exertion.
“Brennan – do you deny that this is your triad?”
Taggar points to the center of a room, and a holo-vid appears.
I watch a recording of their Reaver descending on my manor. I watch as the Aurelians pull me from my bed – kicking and screaming.
“I do not deny it.”
“So, you took Natali Carani from her home?”
Brennan stares at the holo-vid for a long moment. Then, his eyes scan upwards. He’s looking at the mirror – and for a moment, his eyes flicker past his reflection and it’s almost as if they meet mine.
“I did.”
16
Otho
As I watch the holo-vid, frozen at the moment that we pulled Natali from her bed, I also hear the leader of my triad admit what we did.
My logical brain tells me that we’re fucked.
I’ve never been one for logic, though. Let Lazar have that. My faith in Natali is full and certain.
Our situation looks dire – but I have faith she’ll not betray us. If she does, then it isn’t the hundreds or thousands of years behind bars that scares me. It’s the thought of living without my Fated Mate.
Lieutenant Taggar waves his hand dismissively, and the video disappears.
“Do you deny that you came to Mr. Carani’s house to secure a business deal, and that while you were there, you saw Natali Carani?”
“I do not deny it.”
“And did you smell her scent while you were there? And suspect she was your Fated Mate?”
Brennan puffs out his chest. “I knew she was our Fated Mate!”
Lieutenant Taggar addresses the crowd. “And, there you have it. These are not evil men. These are men devoted to the Empire – and to all Aurelians. They were willing to bend - and occasionally break – the laws for our benefit. Any one of us would have been tempted by the scent of our Bonded Mate…”
Then, he turns back to the triad.
“…and yet, we are not Rogue.”
His face hardens, anger in his eyes.
“We are not base animals. Humanity sees us this way because of actions like those of men like you. The minimum sentence I’m willing to pass for a kidnapping like this is three hundred years in a Bond-Disrupted Prison cell.”
There’s a gasp from the crowd.
“You’ve fought proudly for our Empire,” Taggar admits, “but your crimes are clear. Is there any other reason you can see that I should grant you leniency for your crimes?”
The anger fades from his face. Now, he’s searching us – a quizzical look on his face.
Down in the front row, Mr. Carani’s face turns into a cold grin. He feels like he’s won.
Three hundred years is a long time for my triad – even by Aurelian standards. It’s much longer for a young woman like Natali. She won’t be able to feel our Auras, or the Bond, for the length of our sentence.
In that time, she may forget us – even if I will never forget her.
Lazar’s guilt spikes – like an iron pole driven through his heart. Beside me, Brennan grows angry and fierce.
I feel a strange calmness, though. I can’t feel Natali’s aura – but I know she must be watching us, somehow.
Natali must have left us a way to escape this. I can’t see it – and Lazar, the smartest of us three, is too focused on his own guilt to follow the trail of clues I’m sure she must have left.
Why isn’t she here?
There has to be a reason for it. I need to stall.
Brennan opens his mouth to speak, but I put my hand on his thigh, silencing him.
The entire courtroom is staring at us, ready for the final words as Lieutenant Taggar passes his judgement down on us.
“You know why you can’t convict us,” I suddenly say, filled with confidence – but having no idea where I’m going with this.
Taggar’s face flickers. He wants to conceal his emotions, but I can see he was half-expecting this.
Why isn’t she here? What if the Bond Disrupter was put on her to stop her from communicating with us? What if Natali needs to pass us some message, from across the room?
From across the room – that’s it!
“Out with it, then!” Taggar demands.
My mind races. Lazar said she didn’t regret us kidnapping her – that we weren’t stealing her, but liberating her. Is there some way to turn that into a legal argument?
I wish I had Lazar’s keen mind. I’m currently working on instinct alone.
“That man,” I suddenly say, pointing to Mr. Carani. “That man kept Natali Carani behind walls. She barely saw another human being other than her guard for her entire childhood.”
There’s a gasp across the courtroom.
“She was a prisoner for all her teenage years, and the start of her adulthood. That man was keeping her captive. We didn’t kidnap her – we freed her.”
Mr. Carani stands, rage on his face. “What gives you the right!”
Lieutenant Taggar stares him down for a second. “Silence!” He bellows.
Then,
