Page 76 of Little Wing
I clutched Silas’s knee firmly.Oh my gods. When the two women straightened in their seat and bowed their heads at the mention of their family’s names, I could have fainted. My head was spinning, but Silas’s scent steadied me—the scent that tied me to him.
“And we would be doing an injustice if we did not acknowledge the outrageous neglect and mistreatment toward his own kin. Mr. Everett has demonstrated how unsuitable he was to guide anyone. We, as makers, guide our spawn. We provide them with guidance and necessary tools to exist peacefully among all creatures. Mr. Everett failed to do that in the cruelest of ways—starving his only kin—forcing her into bloodlust triggered by—”
I looked down, letting my hair fall over my shoulders, cascading over my face like a makeshift shroud. I couldn’t listen to any more of it when my experience, my pain, and my torment were reduced to what almost sounded like a headline. I clutched my sides and began to rock. Silas put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him, pressing his lips against my temple.
“They’re almost done, Lo. I’m so sorry….”
Just a little longer, Luca. Just a little longer and I will be free of you one way or another.
Lady Pauline looked at the bailiff at the door and then back at everyone seated before her.
“We will now be bringing Luca Everett into the room. He will be restrained and will only remain for the duration of the sentencing. If you wish to leave the room and hear the sentencing without seeing the accused, you are welcome to step into the next room,” Lady Pauline offered.
No one moved.
The doors opened and I forced myself to look up from my lap, watching as the shell of a man I once respected and loved walked in, dragging his feet along the carpeted floor. Luca was wearing an orange jumpsuit with thick chains around his wrists and ankles that jangled noisily with each step he took toward his designated seat. He looked more pale than usual and what light was left in his eyes was replaced with a palpable rage that could be felt by everyone in the room. He was furious and I felt the magnitude of it deep in my chest, his connection to me letting me feel every bit of his anguish.
Before he was allowed to sit, the officer at his side nudged him before the judge’s bench. I watched as his head turned to look back at the people seated beyond the plexiglass. His frantic eyes darted around the room, lingering on the Wells women before swiftly gliding to the other side where they landed on me.
Seeing me staring at him with Silas’s arm around my shoulder, Luca snarled, his chains rattling loudly as he launched himself toward the rail. He slammed violently against the plexiglass, shouting obscenities that made the humans flinch. But I sat still, watching as he was yanked back by the officer to his spot before Lady Pauline.
“That fucking bitch!” he snarled, his spit dripping from the corner of his mouth, like a rabid animal. “You chain me up and you let her just sit there?!”
“Mr. Everett!” Lady Pauline roared, slamming her gavel against the sounding block. “I order you to settle down. Better yet—” she nodded at the officer beside the door who wasted little time in producing a muzzle that was quickly fastened around Luca’s mouth. “Now, sit.”
The officer beside Luca yanked him back by the chains. The snarl that left him was felt in cascading shivers down my spine.
Lady Pauline rubbed the side of her head and leaned forward to gaze at my brother who spent his time fidgeting in his seat. “I am over seven hundred years old, Mr. Everett. I have lived through plagues, wars, and famines. I have seen so much destruction and devastation in my time as both a human and a vampire, yet your actions against innocents make me feel nauseated. They cannot go unpunished."
“I thought judges—” Luca spoke, his speech muffled by the muzzle but also by the spit that had collected at the slot over his lips.
“Thought what, Mr. Everett?” Lady Pauline asked, her expression full of disgusted curiosity. “That I wouldn’t insert my own opinion and experiences in your case?” She shook her head and set her gavel down so that she could roll up the sleeves of her robes. “I’ve been after you for a very long time. You caused us a great deal of trouble when we were working hard on unifying our people with the humans. Your actions were deplorable and are just as wretched to this day. So, no—I will not remove my position on your case as I am so deeply rooted in this that it gives me great pleasure to deliver your final sentencing.”
Luca shrugged and dared to look over his shoulder at the Wells women who sat huddled together. You didn’t need to know them personally to know that the pain they felt did not die with time. I only hoped that their family would find some peace knowing that the manwho ripped their loved ones from them would finally be punished for his crimes.
Lady Pauline sat straight in her seat and looked out to the stand before looking down at Luca. Determination lined every fine crease on her face.
“Luca Everett, you have been found guilty of two counts of aggravated homicide, evasion of arrest, and vampire torment and starvation. You have been denied trial and parole. You will be held in the Washington State prison.” She paused and allowed her gaze to fall to me for only a second before finishing. “You will also be stripped of any kin and spawn by way of bloodletting.”
I immediately shot up from my seat, gripping the bench in front of me until I felt the wood splinter beneath my fingers, just as Luca thrust himself out of his seat toward the plexiglass barrier. The chains that bound him rattled as he snarled loudly. Scattered gasps and yelps sounded from the spectator benches. Bloodletting—a medicinal practice not used since our younger years. It was truly the only way we could purge our systems of a foreign substance. In this case, any trace of blood from a spawn would be purged from the maker, thus severing the connection. In theory, it was possible. While bloodletting in humans often resulted in more infections and even death, that was not a way to kill a vampire. That was a wound we could survive.
Without fear, I stepped out into the aisle and took my first few steps toward my enraged brother. He continued to bang his head against the plexiglass, even as he was held back by the officer beside him.
“Ms. Everett!” Detective Morello gasped, reaching his hand out to me as I walked forward. He only pulled away when he saw me stop a few feet away from the spit and black blood covered barrier.
I watched as saliva dribbled from the muzzle around my brother’s mouth. As he struggled, calling me names, I couldn’t hold back a grin.My lips spread and curved, displaying the fangs he demanded I hide. Everything he demanded I conceal was on display—my complexion, my eyes, and all the scars given to me by him. I bore no shame or fear as I stood just feet away from him, because this was the end.
“Lady Pauline?” I addressed the woman watching from the bench with a polite bow. “What will happen to me when the tether breaks?”
“Ms. Everett, whatever you wish,” she stated plainly. “Your connection to Mr. Everett will be severed. Whatever ties you have to him as a maker will be no more.”
“And—” I fought to hold back the tremble in my voice. “I will not die?”
“No.”
I felt my smile spread wider. Luca slammed into the barrier again before being yanked back forcefully by the officer. My flinch was barely visible—good. In these final moments, I couldn’t let him shake me. Not when I was so close to freedom.
I couldn’t believe it. This would be it. This would truly be the end of everything he put me through.
