The noise died as the door closed, and a petrified sixteen-year-old appeared. Rebecca’s plain face looked bloodless, and her soft brown hair was falling into disarray as Elain hurried her up the aisle.
“Thank you, Elain, but I believe the girl can probably walk by herself,” Gertie said, her weathered skin wrinkling with anger.
Baird nodded wryly. “Indeed.”
Elain murmured something in Rebecca’s ear and gave her a little push toward the elders. Baird pursed his lips at the movement, but kept quiet as Rebecca approached, hands clasped and head angled away so that when she passed by me, she avoided eye contact. She didn’t stop walking until she was in front of the high table, a few paces ahead of me.
“Rebecca Price.” Baird peered down with clasped hands and a grim mouth. “Gus and Elain have told us you witnessed Serena Smith meeting with a fae. Is this true?”
In a squeaky voice, she replied, “Yes, Chief Elder. Last month—the night Henry Baddock went missing—I was gathering logs from the wood pile outside our house. Then I saw a light coming from the woods … it called to me.”
“That’s when you saw her?” Dr. Fagan asked, a little too eager.
“Yes.” Blinking fast, she continued in one breath to say, “I don’t know how long I followed, but when the light dimmed, I heard voices—”
“Was it a fae?” Dr. Fagan asked, the light of conspiracy in his eyes.
A pious fool. A zealot and a mystic. The surgeon had that reputation.
Rebecca nodded fervently. “Just one. She was talking with Serena,” she said damningly. “I couldn’t hear what they were saying, though.”
“Are you sure it was Serena you saw that night?” Baird pressed.
“Yes.”
“Even though the light had dimmed?” Nothing got past Gertie.
Rebecca stumbled over her words as she said, “Yes. The moon was bright—”
“If that was the night Henry went missing, then the moon would’ve been full,” Nathan intervened.
Gertie wasn’t deterred. “What did the fae look like?”
I prayed her interrogation was a sign of skepticism, and that she at least recognized the rehearsed nature of Rebecca’s testimony. Gertie had a fierce reputation as a cranky old woman, but if she helped me, I’d love her forever.
“Beautiful,” Rebecca mumbled. “Much more beautiful than a human. She had golden wings. Oh! And the pointy teeth.”
Unable to contain myself any longer, I interrupted. “So, you were close enough to see this fae’s teeth, but not to hear what was being said?”
Gertie snorted. The others, however, didn’t look impressed.
“Yes,” Rebecca’s said in a very small voice.
I persisted despite Nathan’s glare. “You knew about Henry going missing, so why didn’t you tell your father or the council about what you’d seen?”
Rebecca squeaked, and for a split second her eyes darted to Elain and Gus.
But Baird caught everything. He leaned forward and barked, “Rebecca! Has someone told you to say these things? Has anyone threatened you? Because if they have, we can protect you. You wouldn’t be punished for your testimony today. But if we discover that you’ve lied to us later, the consequences will be severe.”
“Speak the truth, child,” Gertie said roughly.
Rebecca whimpered and wrung her hands together.
“Please,” I murmured to her back, “whatever they’ve said or promised to do, don’t help them destroy me.”
Rebecca burst into noisy tears, crying, “I was an idiot for following the light—I see that now. It was like I was under a spell, and I said nothing … because … I …” she trailed off, making loud uh-hu-uh-hu noises.
Elain ran forward, put her arm around her, and dragged her in close.
Quite a show.
“There, hush now. Please, forgive her.” Elain looked up to the elders, a pleading note entering her voice. “Rebecca’s terrified of Serena. That’s why she hasn’t said anything before now.”
Rebecca wiped her eyes while hiccuping. “Yes … that was why.”
Viola huffed something under her breath that sounded remarkably like, “How convenient.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. This had to be a nightmare. It had to be.
“Very well,” Baird said with an exasperated sigh. “Thank you, Rebecca.”
Baird instructed Timothy to take Rebecca to one of the back rooms so she could recover her damned poise.
I opened my eyes to see Timothy ushering her out. My gaze traveled to the elders, and knowledge gripped my heart, rendering it still and cold. The council would find me guilty.
Baird stood, sounding plain tired as he said, “The council must deliberate. We shall retreat to our chambers. You are all confined to this room until we come back with a verdict.”
He led the others one by one into an adjoining room. Once gone, John and Viola rushed forward and I got pulled into a three-person hug.
“Everything will be all right,” Viola said, rubbing my back.
The tremble in her voice betrayed her true thoughts.
“No. It won’t,” I whispered.
They both pulled away. Viola could barely look at me. John moved to block my sight of Gus and Elain. “Don’t despair,” he began, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “Baird’s a good man. And call me na?ve, but I don’t believe they can find you guilty on such flimsy evidence. A blind man could see that Rebecca had been coerced.”
They were empty words, and we both knew it. Fear twisted me up, and another spark heated my throat. My hand flew to the gem. I whispered, “Viola, I thought I felt something earlier, and it just happened again—my mother’s necklace was burning. That can’t be normal, can it? D’you think—” I didn’t dare utter the word “magic,” with Gus and Elain in the same room, so I went with, “Is this the protective power you were talking about? Is it sensing I’m in danger?”
Eyes clouded with worry turned to confusion. “Your mother never warned me about anything like that. Don’t think about it for now.”
She reached up and brushed my hair away from my face. A soothing gesture that made my eyes prickle. Gulping down the emotion that threatened to strangle me, I choked, “If they find me guilty …”
“Shh, it’ll be fine.” Viola drew me into an even tighter hug than before, and John put his arms around both of us. We stayed like that, frozen in a bubble, ignoring the odd rumbling coming from Elain and Gus, until a door creaked open. We broke apart and looked up to see the elders filing back into the Hall.
I thought they’d move back to their seats, but they came to rest in front of the long oak table instead.
“Serena Smith,” Baird started gravely, and my heart slammed into my lungs, forcing the air out in a shaky exhale.
“We’ve weighed the evidence against you and in the matter of the assault, we’ve reserved judgment. Despite your confession, we cannot find you guilty when you’re claiming self-defense. As it’s a matter of your word against Elain’s and Gus’s, we’re dropping the matter for now.”
“What?” Gus hissed. “I could’ve been killed! I want to see some punishment!”
All he got was a scowl from Baird. “This is our judgment, and you will respect it if you wish to remain in this village.”
A disgruntled mumbling followed.
Baird faced me again. “However, we have an eyewitness claiming to have seen you in fae company. Rebecca gains nothing by speaking out against you, and while some among the council remain skeptical of the girl’s reliability …” His nostrils flared a touch. “There was a vote, and the majority have found you guilty of consorting with the fae, and of being a changeling. The sentence for this is often execution—”
My knees almost gave way.
“But I do not believe this to be the answer, and the council agrees.”
I breathed again.