11 - Judgment & the World: The Arcana Glen Major Arcana by Tara Maya

Author:Tara Maya [Maya, Tara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: The Arcana Glen Major Arcana#11
Publisher: Misque Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

November 8, 2022

Full Moon

Arcana Glen, Colorado

Mundane Sphere

* * *

The television screen turned to snow. The vision ended.

When the vision started, Kyrah was still sitting in the witness stand. Raziel was called up to the stand next, although his lawyer advised against it.

Eleni asked him several formal questions for the Prosecution. “Were the events and emotions we experienced during the Visions accurate to what you know happened at the time?”

“Yes,” he said in a wooden voice. In the intervening years, the pain of Sabriel’s humiliating rejection of him had faded but now it all had been revisited upon him in a rush. The pain felt as raw as it had the day it had happened. He had thought he couldn’t care less if everyone saw his memories, but he had been wrong. It had been bad enough having his degradation witnessed by his enemies, all those years ago. But today, knowing that people he respected had seen him doting on and making love to Sabriel, then falling for her trick and selling himself into the Dark for her.... murdering for her, then kissing her on command...

It was worse. So much worse.

There wasn’t a word for that level of shame.

“And did you want revenge on the woman who deceived you?” continued Eleni. “Who pretended to love you only to make a fool of you? Who had literally tricked you into selling your soul to a demon?”

“Yes,” said Raziel. “I wanted revenge.”

“You wanted to kill her.”

“I wanted to kill her, but I couldn’t.”

Charisa took her turn to cross examine him. “Isn’t it possible that despite the fact the queen and king appeared to be working together, in fact, Sabriel pretended to betray you only to induce the king to spare your life? And isn’t it possible that the king, Belliqas Izbognir, therefore still had a strong motive to kill her?”

Eleni stood up. “Objection, your honor. That’s speculation.”

“The woman I thought I loved wouldn’t have made me commit murder,” Raziel said flatly.

The Defense dropped the line of questioning, but then she asked, “You said that you couldn’t kill Sabriel. But that’s not true, is it? You were given your chance at revenge. But you refused to take it.”

Raziel’s lips thinned. “You say that is if it’s a good thing.”

Charisa glared at him, frustrated that he was thwarting her defense. “Do I have your permission to show the court the rest of the memory that the Prosecution conveniently cut off in the middle?” Her voice softened. “I know it’s a terrible memory for you, and not one you wish to revisit, but it’s important that everyone understands. If you wanted Sabriel dead, you could have killed her that very day. May I bring the court back to that day?”

Raziel hissed through his teeth. “If you must.”

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