Page 208 of Maksym
“I wasn’t a participant. I was the offering. The victim.”
The words moved through the chamber with a dead weight.
He tried again. “You are not trained in ritual law.”
“No.”
“You are not a witch.”
“No.”
“You cannot testify as to the exact mechanics of the ritual.”
“No.”
“So you cannot know whether it would have truly harmed you.”
Maddie stared at him. “I can testify that I felt it pulling my soul apart.”
“That may have been fear.”
“It was fear. And pain. And magic. I know the difference between being scared and being hunted from the inside.”
The truth spell gave him nothing.
His frustration began to show in the small places: a tendon along his neck, fingers tightening on the lectern, the too-careful way he shuffled a page to buy time.
“You testified that Prince Nikolay entered Ironwood territory without permission.”
“I don’t think you asked me that.”
“Then I ask now. He had no invitation from Alpha Lynch, correct?”
“Not that I know of.”
“He breached pack territory.”
“He came to save his mate.”
“That is not an answer to the legal question.”
“It’s the only answer that matters.”
The counsel looked toward the Magistrate as if seeking rescue from a witness who insisted on moral clarity.
The Magistrate offered none.
“Miss Baucaum,” he said, voice sharpening, “isn’t it true that the first unquestionable act of violence you personally saw was Prince Nikolay commit was the killing of Sage Lynch?”
“No.”
The counsel paused. “No?”
“No.”
“What act of violence did you see before that?”
“Sage striking me. Sage standing over me with a knife. Sage shifting and lunging at Nikolay.” Her drawl cooled. “You don’t get to decide violence only counts once a vampire responds.”
