Dividing Eden (Dividing Eden #1)(63)



“Excuse me, Elders.” Captain Monteros bowed. “My men captured this thief inside the Hall.”

“I ain’t no thief. I was just told—”

“Silence, boy.” Chief Elder Cestrum stepped forward. “This is a serious charge. Captain Monteros, do you have proof this boy was in fact stealing in the Hall of Virtues?”

Captain Monteros nodded to one of the guard members standing behind the protesting youth.

“I saw him,” the guard said. “He cut a purse off a lord’s belt. That’s when I grabbed him.”

“I have the purse right here, my lords,” Captain Monteros said, holding up a small, black velvet bag. “It belongs to Lord Nigel and proves without a doubt that the boy is a thief.”

“I am not!” He pushed himself to his knees. Fear shone from his eyes even as he straightened his shoulders in defiance. It reminded Andreus of Max the first time he woke up in Madame Jillian’s quarters and saw a prince standing over him.

The Hall that had been filled with music and laughter seconds ago was silent as they waited while Elder Cestrum and the Council spoke in hushed tones to each other. When they turned back, Elder Cestrum said, “The Council has decided to leave the decision as to the boy’s guilt and his punishment in the hands of Prince Andreus and Princess Carys. The successor who pronounces the punishment that we the Council feel serves best will see his or her sentence carried out and will be awarded an additional point. Would Prince Andreus and Princess Carys please step onto the dais?”

Elder Jacobs glanced at Andreus as he moved past the other members of the Council and walked up the four steps to stand next to the Throne of Light. For a moment Andreus could picture his father sitting there, Micah standing at his side. The image was gone as he turned and watched his sister reach the top of the dais. Her eyes were filled with concern as she looked down at those on the floor of the Hall.

“Princess Carys.” Elder Cestrum pointed with a black iron finger at the boy kneeling on the ground. “This boy has been accused of stealing the purse of a High Lord in the Hall of Virtues. What punishment would you command be carried out to see that he and all others in the realm understand the severity of this crime?”

Carys looked at Andreus. Then she stepped down from the dais and crossed to the boy on the ground with his defiantly raised chin and terrified eyes.

“What is your name?” she asked.

It took the boy two tries to say, “My name is Varn, Your Highness.”

Carys cocked her head to the side and calmly asked, “How did you come to be in the Hall of Virtues tonight, Varn?”

The controlled way his sister spoke was the essence of temperance. Concerned, Andreus glanced at the Council, who were watching Carys intently as the boy on the white stone floor explained, “A man said there would be food here. He told me I could come. So, I did because I was hungry, Your Highness.”

Andreus could see some in the crowd shift with impatience, but there were others who clearly believed the boy’s simple declaration and felt sorry for him.

Carys frowned and whirled toward Captain Monteros, her voice louder as she demanded, “Captain, how is it this boy was allowed into the castle, let alone the Hall of Virtues?”

Captain Monteros stared at Carys. “He must have snuck past the guards at the gate, Your Highness, and—”

“How many guards did you post at the entrance?”

“Dozens, Your Highness.”

“And they all are aware that my brother, their prince, was attacked by an assassin on the tournament grounds?”

“Of course, Your Highness.”

“And yet this boy, who looks as if he hasn’t bathed in weeks and hasn’t eaten a real meal in at least as long, managed to gain access to the castle, wander dozens of corridors to reach the Hall of Virtues, and venture inside without any of the castle guard seeing him?”

A gasp went through the crowd as the significance of Carys’s words became apparent. Captain Monteros’s eyes shifted behind Carys to the Elders.

She didn’t wait for his answer. The bottom of her dress rippled and tendrils of hair blew around her face as she spun to face the Council. “If the guards Captain Monteros trained cannot be trusted to keep Varn and others who are uninvited out, how can I trust the word of the one who spoke against this boy tonight?”

“Are you saying the boy is innocent?” Elder Cestrum asked.

The room held their breath as Carys said, “Did I say that, my lord, or are you putting words in my mouth? Perhaps my maid can get you a dress to wear so you can just pretend to be me.”

Carys’s angry words made everyone in the room mumble—with surprise or disapproval, which Andreus could not tell. The Chief Elder’s eyes narrowed. If he wasn’t angry with his twin, Andreus would have applauded the insult. As it was, he was glad for the lack of control she was currently displaying. Certainly, a loose tongue was the opposite of temperance. Her words were coming faster and faster, and he could see the way she trembled. Most people would think it was because she was so upset, but he knew better. He recognized the signs of the Tears of Midnight losing effectiveness.

“You wish to know what I think?” His sister turned back to look at the boy, who appeared more terrified than when this began. “I believe there are many in this room and this castle who are to blame. This boy is but one of them. And it would be unjust to punish one without punishing them all. A week in the stockades in the center of Garden City for the guards who failed in their duty will make sure they don’t do so again. As for the boy—since there was no one concerned enough to tell him he could not enter the castle, my verdict is that he is to go free.”

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