Chapter 3 ***

Selene Blackwood

Is this really over?

I feel my heart breaking all over again.

“You believe them?”

I ask Damon, even though his silence already gives me the answer. I shake my head and turn toward the council.

“This is wrong. Someone is lying.”

A few people in the crowd shake their heads, and someone mutters that I should stop pretending.

My eyes burn with tears, but I refuse to let them fall because I won’t give them the satisfaction of watching me break when they’ve already decided I’m guilty.

“The third charge against Selene Blackwood is that she harbors resentment toward the Moonfang royal family and has openly expressed the belief that the royal family is responsible for the deaths of her parents.”

I stop breathing. My parents. The words hit me harder than anything else they’ve said, bringing back memories of my mother, my father, and the day they died, along with all the questions I’ve carried for years. Yes, I’ve wondered about their deaths, but that doesn’t mean I blamed the royal family.

“No.” I shake my head. “That’s not what I said.”

I look at Damon.

“I never said that.”

Surely he knows me well enough to believe that, but the council member continues without even looking at me.

“The accused is further alleged to have stated that the Moonfang royal family was responsible for the deaths of her parents and that she intended to seek revenge against the Alpha bloodline.”

“No!”

My voice rises as I take a step forward.

“That’s not true. I never said the royal family killed my parents. I never said any of these things.”

The man lowers the parchment, and for a second, I feel a flicker of hope. Maybe someone will finally question these accusations. Maybe Damon will finally step forward and defend me.

But he doesn’t.

He just stands there.

“The accusations against Selene Blackwood are supported by evidence and witness testimony.”

My heart drops.

“What testimony?”

I ask. The man looks at me, and I refuse to look away.

“Who said these things about me?”

No one answers.

“Who told you I was meeting with some sorcerer named Malakai? Who told you I wanted to poison the Alpha bloodline?”

The whispers around me grow louder, but I keep going.

“Who told you I blamed the royal family for my parents’ deaths?”

I honestly want to know who harbors such resentment against me to go this far. The council member looks down at the parchment, and something about the way he hesitates makes my stomach twist.

He glances at Damon, then at the council, and finally back at me. My heart begins to pound as he speaks.

“Selene Blackwood, these charges are supported by the testimony of a witness who has provided direct knowledge of your actions and intentions.”

I swallow hard.

“Who?”

My voice comes out barely above a whisper.

He takes a breath.

“The testimony was provided by your own sister…”

Everything inside me stops.

My sister?

Slowly, I turn my head toward Emma. She’s standing among the crowd, looking completely calm, with no guilt, fear, or even a hint of regret on her face. She looks like she’s watching something that has nothing to do with her.

“Emma,”

I whisper.

Her eyes meet mine.

I search her face, waiting for something. Anything.

For her to look away or suddenly tell them this is all a lie and that it’s all false accusations too but Emma simply holds my stare, her expression cold and indifferent. She doesn’t look away. She doesn’t apologize. She doesn’t even look sorry.

For a moment, I wonder if I’m dreaming. Maybe I’ll wake up in my room and find Emma beside me as she has been so many times before, but I don’t wake up.

The hall is still silent, Damon is still standing there, and my sister is still looking at me like she feels nothing. That’s when I know this is real. I turn back toward the council member as he continues.

“The witness further testified that the accused intended to eliminate the Alpha bloodline and had sought the assistance of a sorcerer to accomplish this.”

I shake my head weakly. Before I can say anything else, he unfolds another parchment.

“There is, however, further evidence supporting these accusations.”

My stomach drops.

“What evidence?”

I ask, even though a part of me doesn’t want to hear the answer. The council member looks directly at me.

“An examination of two batches of tonics personally prepared and served by the accused to the Alpha has revealed traces of a poisonous substance.”

For a moment, I don’t understand.

“No.”

My head shakes before I can stop it.

“That’s impossible. I didn’t poison anything. I even drank from the same cup. Damon, tell them.”

I cry looking at the same man I drank herbal tonics with for strength but he barely looks at me.

The council member continues as if he hasn’t heard me.

“The poisonous substance was found in both batches of tonics served to the Alpha. The evidence confirms that the accused personally handled and delivered both.”

My stomach twists as I remember the tonics. I remember preparing them, carrying them to Damon, and handing them over without a second thought.

Why wouldn’t I?

He was the Alpha. He was the man I loved.

I look at him.

Please.

I don’t say it, but I beg him with my eyes. Please don’t believe them. But the look on his face makes my heart sink.

“I didn’t do any of it,” I whisper.

I look around the hall, searching for someone who believes me, but all I see are accusing faces. Then I look at Emma, but she isn’t looking at me anymore. She doesn’t have to. She has already done enough. And it makes me wonder just how long my downfall was plotted.