Page 200 of Maksym
Her fingers flexed once.
Nikolay’s hands curled on the table, then flattened again. I saw the motion from the corner of my eye.
Maddie nodded. “All right.”
“Before you found yourself there, had you knowingly consumed anything meant to affect your judgment?”
“No.”
“Had you knowingly agreed to be sedated, relaxed, drugged, or otherwise impaired?”
“No.”
“Had you agreed to participate in a forced-bond ritual?”
“Hell no.”
“Had anyone explained such a ritual to you and asked for your informed consent?”
“No.”
The legal rhythm steadied me. Question. Answer. Foundation. Truth. There was mercy in structure when the facts themselves had none.
“When you were on the altar, were you restrained?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“My wrists and ankles were bound. I couldn’t get up.”
“Were you free to leave?”
“No.”
“Were you free to stop what was happening?”
“No.”
I took one breath through my nose. I could smell the room listening.
“Was someone standing over you besides Sage Lynch?”
“Yes. There was a witch.”
“Tell the Council what the witch was doing.”
Maddie looked toward the dais, not at me. It was the first time she had addressed the room as if forcing them to become witnesses instead of judges.
“She stood near the altar and moved her hands over me. Over my chest, my stomach, my head. She chanted words I didn’t understand.” Maddie’s voice thinned, then steadied. “It felt like something had hooks inside my chest.”
A quiet sound moved through the gallery.
I asked, “What do you mean by hooks?”
“It pulled at me. Not my skin. Not exactly. Deeper than that. Like something was trying to grab the part of me that knew Nikolay was mine and rip it out by the roots.”
The truth spell shivered under the floor. My own hand tightened around the pen before I made it relax.
