Dragon Marked_ Supernatural Prison #1(36)

“The argument in question, of which I have six witnesses who testified under truth…” His slimy voice gave me the worst feeling in my gut, like period cramps only a zillion times worse. “Was about Jessa, and whether she was free for Markus to pursue. This upset Maximus Compass to a visible degree, and we believe at the time of his death the victim was on his way to the Lebron home. It was at this point he was intercepted by the four Compasses.”

Ah shit-damn. Not good, everyone knew the Compasses were hot-blooded over me; it was starting to look more like a real motive. Kristoff had a few more bits and pieces of evidence, like the magical trace forensics which found proof all of them were at the scene. Hair, scent, even a fingerprint. Of course that was to be expected – we all were there, we’d gone and gawked liked morons when we should have stayed home. But too late to worry about that now.

When he was done, it was Louis’ turn. I could see Jo and Jack tightly gripping hands as they watched their boys. Each of their sons had touched their brow and saluted two fingers to their parents upon arrival, a supernatural sign of respect. They followed that with a wink for their mother. Their confident swagger did not seemed to have lessened Jo’s worry.

I’d always known that Louis was impressive, but today … damn, he was unbelievable. Piece by piece he tore the previous argument to shreds. His voice was calm, his stance relaxed, and as always the power that rode his words spread throughout the entire room. He had alibis for three of the four – Maximus was keeping that day’s events to himself. Probably involved a woman. Louis then pointed out the obvious regarding evidence at the scene, which wasn’t even the kill spot. I could see Kristoff’s face darkening as each of his points were turned around. If the quads were cleared of charges, he would look like a fool, since he was the one to make the huge scene and arrest them on trumped-up charges. Finally, after a tense fifty minutes, all the facts were in, and all we could do was wait for the magical verdict.

It took forever. I fidgeted, twitched in my chair, and drove Mischa crazy by knocking into her.

Finally the book delivered the folded paper. Kristoff reached out and took it. He looked down for a second before flipping it open.

No expression crossed his features. He lifted his head.

“Not guilty,” he muttered, before throwing aside the white slip and storming off the stage.

The hall erupted with delight and uproar. I wanted to jump up and down and scream a little, but before I lost my shit I turned and took in the room. My eyes alighted on the many faces. Most looked excited, but there were a few with neutral or unhappy stares. Kristoff obviously, and Giselda, who’d been near the back of the room; also a troll, two pixies, and another vampire – who was vaguely familiar but I couldn’t remember his name. Strolling closer to them, I tried to scent the emotions, but there was so much going on in the room I couldn’t get anything clear. There were traces of guilt and anger coming from someone, but the mess of emotional resonance made it impossible to pinpoint who.

Finally I decided to just catalogue each face closely, for future reference.

As I turned around, the guards were removing the cuffs to free the quad’s hands. I strode back to where my family was excitedly waiting. Jo was practically vibrating on the spot, and only Jack’s hold on her kept her from flying off into the ceiling.

Then they were in front of us. Jacob and Tyson gathered their relieved mother into a hug. Maximus got to me first, wrenching me up and crushing the life from me, along with a few ribs and some happy tears. He handed me over to Braxton, and as his spicy, masculine scent wrapped around me, I felt the constriction on my chest finally ease. I wasn’t alone anymore. I buried my face in his hard chest.

“We have a shitload to tell you.” Braxton’s words in my ear sent ominous shivers down my spine. I could tell that this was going to be bad. “And don’t lose it, but I have to go back into the prison.”

He’d better be freaking kidding me. I just got them back from there. Pulling away, I narrowed my eyes at him, followed by my eyebrows. He just flashed me some dimple before turning away to join the celebrating crowd. With a huff I focused on the pair next to me. This wasn’t the place to start demanding answers. Maximus and Mischa seemed to be having some sort of intense, silent conversation, using only strange facial expressions. I watched them closely for a few moments. What the hell were they doing?

“Looks like you owe me a date.” I swiveled to find Louis at my side. His enigmatic features were relaxed, but lots was going on in his eyes.

I crossed my arms across my chest but didn’t move away. He was close, I could feel the power surrounding him.