Betrayed by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #5)(72)

Iannis smiled at that. “I think if I’ve managed to deal with your attitude for this long, I can survive Miss Melcott for a single morning.”

I snorted. “I sure hope so,” I said as I left the room. Because if not, Noria was going to be in big trouble.





29





The morning of Noria’s hearing dawned bright and cold, hinting at the coming fall. I stood on my veranda, sipping coffee while I watched the sun rise, and prayed to Magorah and Resinah and the Creator and whoever the hell else was listening, to make Noria wake up with a clear head rather than anger in her heart.

I knew now that if I’d shown up at the Palace for my own hearing with a reasonable attitude, things might have gone easier for me. I was lucky Iannis had shown me compassion despite his stony exterior, and also that he was presiding over Noria’s case. With any luck, he would show her similar compassion, and she would have the sense to take whatever deal he offered her.

I bathed and dressed, then made my way down to the audience chamber, where Iannis and Fenris already waited. This was the room where Iannis heard complaints and conducted hearings, where I had experienced my first encounter with the fearsome and mysterious Chief Mage. I stepped into the spacious chamber, which was more like a hall than a room. A long blue-and-gold carpet carved a path through the center of the parquet floor, and tall, gleaming mahogany columns held up the soaring ceiling as I walked up the path. The walls were pale pink granite, as was the huge desk Iannis and Fenris stood behind. A thick, leather-bound logbook stood open on the desk, as well as a file, and there were legal texts on hand as well, should they prove to be necessary.

“Good morning,” I murmured, twining my fingers briefly with Iannis’s as I took my place to his right. We hadn’t slept together last night, and I strongly suspected Iannis hadn’t slept at all, though he looked the same as ever.

“Good morning.” He squeezed my hand briefly, then let it go as the double doors opened. My heart skipped a beat as Annia and two guards brought Noria in. They were both wearing conservative dresses, Annia’s a pale green and Noria’s a dark red—probably their mother’s idea, as I doubted Noria would have dressed up for the occasion. I was glad her mother, a rather difficult woman, had elected to stay away from the hearing. Perhaps Annia had persuaded her to stay behind. Noria held her head high as she was escorted down the aisle to stand before the Chief Mage with Annia at her side.

Comenius and Elnos were also there, trailing behind the guards—they had agreed to come as character witnesses and to provide moral support. Comenius gave me a small smile as he and Elnos stood off to the side, and I nodded. I was glad they were here, not just for Noria, but for me as well, selfish though that was.

“Good morning, Lord Iannis,” Annia said, bowing. Everyone but Noria did the same. “We are ready for the hearing.”

“Are you?” Iannis asked sternly, addressing Noria directly. She locked eyes with him, and I was both proud and apprehensive at the defiance blazing in her dark eyes. “Are you ready to proceed with this hearing, Miss Melcott?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Noria said, straightening her shoulders.

“Very well.” Iannis pulled a piece of paper from the file on the desk, then briefly scanned it. “Noria Melcott, are you aware that you have been charged with treason against the Federation, and for attempting to commit genocide?”

“I am,” Noria said stiffly.

“And do you have anything to add to the testimony you have already given, which is on record?” Iannis asked.

“No.” Noria hesitated. “Actually, yes.”

Annia glared at her, but Noria refused to look at her sister. My stomach sank, and I had a feeling that whatever she was about to say wouldn’t help her case.

“Very well. What do you wish to tell us?”

“I want to make it clear that even though I don’t support the Resistance any more, I still don’t recognize your authority over me.” Elnos sucked in a sharp breath, and pain flashed in Annia’s eyes. “You have no empathy for the human race, and do not attempt to understand our troubles or needs. Whatever you decide to do with me, you’re still a tyrant. Nothing is going to change that.”

I clenched my hands at my sides, thankful the desk shielded them. Where the hell did Noria get off saying any of that shit? There was a kernel of truth there, but after everything I’d told her, and all that had transpired, she should know better than that by now. And unlike me when I’d arrived here for my hearing, Noria had actually committed crimes against the Federation.

“Noted,” Iannis said, without a hint of emotion. “Now, do you admit that it was wrong to aid the Resistance in producing the kind of weapons they were asking you to make?”

“I do now,” Noria admitted. “I didn’t realize the real purpose they intended to use my device for when I started working on it, or I never would have agreed. That’s why I tried to stop them,” she added, glaring at Iannis.

“That, too, has been noted, and it is the only reason why you haven’t already been sentenced to death,” Iannis said. Noria’s face paled at that, making her freckles stand out, but she did not react otherwise. “Even so, I cannot let you off without any punishment at all. You must either face three years in the mines, or take a legally and magically binding oath not to engage in any sedition or revolutionary activities for the next twenty years.”