Chapter 21 The Trial (1)

King Viktor stared at them with his red eyes in disgust. "You are late!" His voice thundered through the throne hall, filled with loathe.

Emma was so scared that she started trembling in Lazarus's arms. Lazarus tightened his grip on her and very coldly said, "My apologies, Your Majesty." Slowly, he removed himself from Emma and she bowed immediately.

Emma saw that every window of the hall was covered in thick velvety crimson curtains, not allowing a beam of light to enter. Rich tapestry adorned the walls. There were paintings of kings on the walls and between paintings, the flag of Wilyra was hung. Two swords crossed in the middle with a trapped dove against a red background. Five large chandeliers hung from the ceiling with thousands of candles lighting them.

Men and women sat on plush chairs in a line on the sides. Vampires. They watched Emma and Lazarus like hawks. Emma recognized half of them for having had dinner with her the previous evening. Her gaze went to the man on the king's left where Anton was seated. He smirked at her when their eyes met. The chair on his right was empty and there was no doubt that it belonged at Lazarus.

King Viktor looked at his General, who was standing beside the dais on which the throne chair was. "Read the accusations against him!"

The General straightened. He looked fleetingly at Lazarus and opened a scroll with shaky hands as if Lazarus would rip him apart into two if he read out the accusations. Taking a deep breath in, he started reading them out. "Lord Lazarus is hereby charged with treason. He killed his brothers, Antonius and Bardo, while returning from the lower level of the capital. The two had gone to assist him in coming back to the palace, but he attacked them with the intention of murdering them." The General looked up at Lazarus and asked, "Do you plead guilty or not guilty?"

Emma's mouth fell on the floor as fear cruised through her in waves. The accusations were ridiculous. The brothers attacked him and they wanted to kill him or her. She had heard— Her thoughts were punctuated by Anton's sharp voice.

"Lazarus should be sent to the guillotine. He has committed a heinous crime. He has killed two princes who were in line of succession." Anton got up with his fists clenched on his sides. "He has always been an anomaly in our family. He had never had any compassion for his brothers and sisters."

There were murmurs of agreement around them. Emma watched all of them as she stood next to Lazarus who remained unaffected by all that was going around him or was it just his façade?

Anton continued, "That night I had sent Antonius and Bardo to assist him on his way back to the palace. However, his men attacked them without giving them a chance to explain why they had come." He pointed to a vampire sitting beside him. "Obi, my younger brother, is a witness to the massacre he had done because he too had gone with them. My sister Edna over there," he growled pointing at a woman sitting on the opposite side, "had also accompanied Obi. She was hurt in the process and was injured on her back." His eyes went to the king. "Lazarus should be punished as severely as possible, Your Majesty!"

King Viktor tilted his head and narrowed his eyes at his eldest son. "Do you agree to all the charges made by Anton against you?"

"No, Your Majesty," Lazarus replied coldly as he didn't even look at Anton and remained standing arrogantly in his place. "All charges made by him are false."

"Lazarus!" Anton shouted. "How dare you tell lies?"

Lazarus rolled his eyes. "It seems that my second brother has forgotten that vampires can't tell lies because they are descendants of faes. I am not speaking lies but—" he snapped his head at Anton. "—how are you managing to lie? Isn't your throat hurting now?"

​ "You—"

"Quiet!" The king roared in the hall making them all silent. He rested his elbow on the armrest of the throne and then placed his chin on his palm. Looking at Lazarus he said, "Why do you say that you are charged wrongly? You killed two of your brothers and that is a reason enough to go to the guillotine."

Lazarus took a deep breath in. All the while he had listened to all of them quietly. He started, "That night my brothers attacked me when I was bringing Emma to the palace. I was bringing her for my betrothed, Maeve. I would have taken Maeve with me, but she is not well and as we all know, she has left for Vilinski to heal. As Anton pointed out, Antonius and Bardo were not there to "assist" me to come to the palace." He emphasized on the word "assist". "I mean why would anyone assist me to come to the palace when I already know the way back to it? This mortal out here is witness to it. They attacked me and wanted to kill Emma so that she couldn't be used as a vessel for Maeve."

Emma hated the way he was talking about her as if she was a commodity, but what he said was right that his brothers attacked him.

"What do you have to say about it, Emma?" Viktor asked.

"She doesn't have to answer!" Lazarus snapped.

She was holding her breath. She had never been to a trial and this was a royal trial. If she spoke against Lazarus, the vampire who had held her captive, she would be free from her captivity. And if she spoke for him, she was going to suffer the ritual. She was at the crossroads as she looked from Lazarus to Anton to the king.

If she was wise, she should lie. But was she wise? Or was she a fool who couldn't tell lies. Would her conscience allow her to speak lies and send Lazarus to his death when he was the one who actually saved her?

A tear rolled out of her left eye as she opened her mouth. She said in a shaky voice, "Your Majesty—"