Brian shuddered. His mouth gaped open. He crumpled to his knees.
"Stop! Rynda, stop!"
She kept walking, her face merciless. "Why aren't you running away now, Brian? Are you stressed out yet?"
"Please stop! Please!"
"You wanted to murder me and the children. You wanted us dead. Our children! You should've shot me in my sleep, Brian. Because now, I will make you suffer. Feel, husband. Feel every drop."
Tears streamed down his face. "Stop! Stop, you fucking bitch, stop!"
"No."
Brian turned bright red, his eyes crazed. He jerked up, his face a furious grimace, and charged at Rynda, his hands stretched out toward her throat. Edward Sherwood lunged in his way, a huge sword in his hands. The blade rose and came down with awful finality. Brian Sherwood crashed to the ground, blood soaking his clothes. Edward raised the sword, thrust it straight down through his brother's chest, and twisted it with a sharp tug.
Everyone stood completely still.
Edward straightened, his face impassive, like a medieval knight over the body of his enemy. "House Sherwood has resolved its internal conflict," he said. "We are now whole."
Epilogue
The arena of trials lay in front of me, a cavernous room with a clear space two hundred feet long and one hundred feet wide at its center, ringed by rows and rows of seats. Bern, Catalina, Arabella, and I stood at its edge. Midway down, a podium was placed to the side, like a referee's chair. The Keeper of Records stood at it. To the right and left of him, three chairs waited on each side. Six people sat in them, the Primes who served as the arbiters of the trials. One of them was Sylvester Green, the current head of the Assembly. Two seats down from him sat Lenora Jordan, the Harris County District Attorney. She looked surprisingly serene, not peaceful, but imperturbable, as if nothing in this world could get a rise out of her right now. Between the arbiters, flanking the podium, our two witnesses stood, Rogan on one side and Linus Duncan on the other. "You will do fine," Rogan had told me before walking out there.
I touched the Tear through my T-shirt. I was still wearing it.
My mother, Grandma Frida, and Leon sat on the opposite side in the chairs reserved for friends and family. We had opted for the sealed trials, which meant no audience except for family, and our entire family wouldn't miss it for the world. Everyone was present, including Grandma Frida, who had a huge smile on her face and a bandage on her arm.
While Lenora's people had sorted out the arrests of Sturm and his personnel, and first responders had pulled Grandma Frida from the rubble of the wall, Bern had broken the cypher on Olivia's files. It detailed the entirety of what she knew about the conspiracy: names, details, crimes committed in the name of the cause. We knew everything except for the identity of Caesar. That remained a secret.
Just before the trials, Rogan and I made a deal: we would turn over the information on the conspiracy to Lenora if she put the weight of Houston behind Arabella's registration. If my sister registered as a Prime, Houston would defend her against federal authorities. Lenora didn't like it, but she agreed to do it.
Grandmother Victoria's name was among those listed in Olivia's files. I had already warned her and I stood by what I said. The files were turned over to Lenora intact and unedited.
It was now all up to the four of us.
"I can't do this," Catalina whispered next to me. She took a step back. "I can't."
I hugged her and told her the same thing Rogan had told me. "You will do fine."
"Let us begin," the Keeper said into a microphone. "The Office of Records calls Nevada Frida Baylor. Present yourself and be tested."
I walked down to the podium. It was only about a hundred feet, but it felt like a lifetime.
"Declare yourself," the Keeper of Records said.
"I'm Nevada Frida Baylor. I come to be recognized as an Elenchus and to seek formation of House Baylor."
"Before we begin, are there any affiliations and alliances to other Houses you wish to declare?"
"Yes. In the event of the formation of House Baylor, House Baylor intends to sign a Mutual Aid Pact with House Harrison."
"So noted," the Keeper stated.
"Also, I wish to announce my engagement to Connor Rogan of House Rogan."
Everyone sat up straighter and looked at Rogan. For the first time since I'd known him, shock showed on Rogan's face. It was there only for a fleeting second, but I saw it and I would savor it for the rest of my life.
Linus Duncan laughed quietly.
"Has anyone pressured or threatened you into making this engagement?" the Keeper asked.