“We ask that her formal charges be read for the court’s approval, since they are not recorded on today’s docket.”
“She was raised as an unknown and has failed to register with the Senate,” Sarah said simply. “We have received multiple reports that she possesses questionable abilities.”
“That is all?” the Chairman asked. “That does not sound like a crime that would interest the International Senate, much less the Chief Justice. Alexis’s local authorities should be handling her case. As I see, they are in custody.” He gestured at Naeemah and Gregg. “I must ask the court to be more specific concerning their crimes of neglect.”
“Their case has been closed,” Charles Madison said.
“Perhaps we were too hasty. Please, tell us what specific crimes the governor has committed.”
“They have harbored this young woman, in full knowledge that she was an unknown.”
“The governor adopted Alexis then?”
“No, but they took on the responsibility of training her,” Sarah Madison said. “Which is why this court has charged them with neglect of their official duties.”
“I see.” The Chairman nodded. “That is a huge oversight on their part, but does the crime warrant sentencing when a fine would be more appropriate?”
“The Chief Justice does not believe a fine is severe enough punishment for this crime and asks the court to support their decision.”
“Very well. The Chair requests permission to question the girl.”
Sarah looked like she wanted to deny the request, but she had little choice but to comply. With a nod, she gave her permission.
“The Chief Justice has failed to inform you that I have also taken over the institution known as Soma,” Allie said. “My summons claims charges of treason have been filed against me, but perhaps the Chief Justice wishes that aspect of my crimes to remain secret.”
Shocked whispers swept the room, and Aidan had a mild stroke. Treason? This was getting worse by the minute.
“What is she doing?” Naomi whispered. “I thought we were supposed to be getting out of here?”
“Give her time. She’s just getting started. Tell everyone to stay alert. When I give the order, I want Sam and Bennett at the doors.”
“It’ll be a miracle if we make it.”
“My granddaughter speaks the truth.” Alísun’s voice pulled Aidan back to the trial. “You can surely sense the mantle of authority she now wears. She is my named heir and first princess. You would do well to listen to her. She is wise beyond her years.”
“This farce of a trial has gone far enough,” Sarah Madison said. “Guards, take the girl into custody as I have commanded, or face charges for your insubordination.”
Aidan held his breath as each of his Syntrophos looked to him for direction. This was the moment of truth. The moment Marcus and Sarah finally realized their army was actually his. He had earned their loyalty. With a slight nod from him, his soldiers settled back to attention.
“Respectfully, we will not,” Aidan said.
“She is guilty of treason, and I will charge you all with accessory to her high crimes if you do not follow orders now!” Sarah was a madwoman, her eyes wild with fury.
“High crimes? Treason? I have not finished questioning the accused.” Chairman Thomas raised his hand. “I find little evidence of treason, despite her claims to Indriell, or what amounts to a corporate takeover of Soma. If anything, we should be thanking her for dealing with that accursed institution. Soma was never under our jurisdiction, and she has not made a bid for the power of the Senate. So I ask you, how can her actions amount to treason? If this woman is to face punishment, she will have a fair trial first.”
Thank God someone in this room has a backbone and some honor.
“We have heard quite enough,” Charles said. “The girl is guilty of treason for daring to call herself first princess.”
“The court has not yet decided what that means,” Chairman Thomas said. “The Chief Justice will remember they work for the Senate, who represent the people of this democracy. They do not have supreme authority to sentence anyone for their crimes without evidence of those crimes. The Chair asks the court to reevaluate the charges against Ms. Alexis Carmichael. I move that the court disregard her failure to register with the Senate in light of who she is. She was obviously trying to protect her identity and her privacy. Any further accusations against Ms. Carmichael will come after the court has questioned her. What say you?” The Chairman turned to the Senate for a vote.
Aidan breathed a sigh of relief at the overwhelming response of “Aye” from the court.
“The court wishes to understand the identity of Ms. Carmichael as the named heir of Indriell, as well as her intentions,” Chairman Thomas addressed the court.
“Queen Alísun, you stand here today, a relic of the ancient world come to life again.” Chairwoman Thomas stood, speaking for the first time. “I can hardly believe it, but clearly the last queen of Indriell we all thought to be dead stands before us again with the Scholar at her side. This is an unprecedented moment in our history. You claim this child, your granddaughter, is the second natural daughter of the ancients, Kassandre and Ashar?”
The queen nodded. “We do.”
“Then by default, you also claim she is the child of prophecy? The son we’ve waited and wondered about for millennia?”
Aidan chanced a glance at Marcus. His stone cold glare chilled him to the bone. Marcus would find a way to kill him for this. Aidan returned his glare in kind. If he walked out of here today, Aidan and his family would make it their mission to end Marcus.
“I am the one who foretold of Alexis’s birth. I recorded the original prophecy with a false interpretation to protect her,” Alísun said.
“Then how can we know for certain what the true prophecy means?” Chairman Thomas asked.
“It is a sad day when the nature of prophecy is no longer understood by those who profess to lead us.” Alísun stepped forward. “Do you not realize what you have standing before you? I am a prophetess. The knowledge of every prophecy I’ve ever spoken lies within my gift. If the court wishes to see the original prophecy concerning Alexis, I am prepared to share that knowledge with everyone present.”
The volume in the courtroom rose as court officials talked over one another. No one saw Gemma and Spencer step through the ancient doors far above the dais. They were ready. It was up to Allie now.
Chapter Forty
Aidan
Barcelona, Spain, May
Aidan’s blood ran cold as he met Marcus’s steely gaze across the courtroom. Queen Alísun was about to show the true prophecy about Allie for the whole courtroom to see. Overwhelmed with the gravity of his failure, he didn’t know how to move forward from here. He’d spent the last years of his life fighting to protect everyone he loved and it all came to nothing. In the end, he hadn’t even been able to protect himself. Marcus destroyed something inside of him and awakened a darkness Aidan struggled to control. His Syntrophos suffered every day of the last few years because of him. And Allie stood across the room, a total stranger, risking it all to take care of herself.
Aidan shared a look with Naomi.
“She’s a big girl now, Aidan. She can handle her own shit.”
Aidan hung his head. “I know. I just thought … I thought I was helping her.”
“Maybe that was your first mistake?” She arched a brow at him. “Maybe you don’t need to kill yourself protecting the people you love.”
“You’re right.” Aidan watched the chaos happening in the courtroom. Sarah Madison was like a rabid dog ready to tear Allie’s throat out. Yet, Aidan was the reason it had all come to this. In his desire to keep everyone safe, he never accepted the help he needed to handle the situation before it escalated beyond his control. He wished he could go back to the night of his arrest and make different choices. Though, at the time, few choices were available to him.
“The court wishes to get to
the bottom of this,” Chairman Thomas said. “We will hear the whole story. Including the original prophecy as given by the queen.”
“The queen?” Sarah harrumphed, leaning back in her seat.
Alísun ignored Sarah’s remark as she approached the podium to stand beside Allie. “Please take your seats and try to relax as I share the prophecy. This will not be comfortable.” She raised her eyes toward the oculus above them, the fading light of evening casting them all in shadow.
The silver of her eyes grew opaque, like opals. A cool breeze flew in from the oculus causing those inside to shiver. Alísun held out her hands for Allie and Livia. “Stand with me, my girls. I am sorry to have to show you this.”
Allie and Livia quickly took their grandmother’s hands, standing solemnly beside her. Aidan and his soldiers sank down onto the bench beside the dais. A blast of power shot through the room, snapping Aidan’s head back. Tightness coiled in his chest, and a sense of doom settled all around them like a mist. Murmurs of distress rose from concerned voices but were silenced as a shadow, thick as night, fell upon the room. No one could move. No one could speak. Terrified eyes gazed above.
Silvery swirling figures took shape, dancing across the domed ceiling. The sound of the queen’s otherworldly voice echoed across the chamber as she quoted the prophecy Aidan knew by heart. But something was lost in the translation from Alísun’s original prophetic vision and the simple words she ultimately recorded on paper.
The ethereal figures took on the forms of the ancient queens: Allie’s ancestors. Queens Ashlynn, Celyn, Alyvia, Fáelynn, Eiselynn and a younger Alísun with a baby Kassandre in her arms, all looked down on the Senate with disappointment and anger—anger for their laziness and complacency.
The queens faded, leaving only Alísun and her young daughter, Kassandre, standing beside her father, Alexander the Scholar.
Alexander chased his young daughter with a spark of laughter in his eyes. A shadow of his voice called out for his “Kassie-girl.”
Kassandre grew into a strong woman with her Complement, Ashar, by her side. Aidan heard Allie’s strangled sob and wanted to go to her. Allie cried out in anguish when an innocent young Livia joined their parents. Her sister was a beautiful child, surrounded by a family who adored her. But a moment later, a faceless man ripped Livia from her parent’s arms and disappeared with her in a puff of smoke. Several lifetimes would pass before they saw their daughter again.
“Livia,” Allie sobbed her sister’s name.
More than two hundred years later, Kassandre and Ashar grew strong again as the only daughter of Indriell to never be queen, became Chief Justice of the modern Immortal world alongside her Complement.
The figure of Kassandre drifted away from Ashar as she grew heavy with her second pregnancy, hiding it from the Senate. Kassandre removed herself from her duties for a short while until after the birth of her secret child. Kassandre sobbed in agony as she kissed the redheaded child on her head and left her with Lily and Carson Carmichael.
“Allie-girl!” The ghost of Kassandre’s voice echoed across the domed ceiling. Kassandre and Ashar raced down the beach toward a toddler-Allie, sweeping her up in a tight embrace. “How we’ve missed you, my love.” She buried her nose in Allie’s hair, turning to greet Lily and Carson, thanking them for caring for their daughter.
Allie’s shoulders shook as she sobbed at the sight of both of her mothers and fathers.
“Stay strong for our girls,” Kassandre spoke softly to her Complement. “Watch over Allie. She will be lonely. She’ll need you more than she knows. And help Alivia forgive herself. She is a fighter. She will survive it all and come out stronger for it, but she will be hard on herself. And promise me, if you can ever learn to love again, my darling Ashar, find whatever happiness you can.” The life in Kassandre’s eyes grew dim as blood bloomed across her chest. Kassandre and Ashar vanished like smoke on the wind.
A young Allie stood alone and lonely as the years went by until Ashar returned for her, taking her to a safe place to become the woman she was destined to be.
An ominous darkness lay behind Allie, an oppressive void representing an uncertain future that no other prophecy had ever foretold. A faceless man grew strong in the darkness. He moved with stealth through the years, seeking to destroy everything the modern Immortal world had built. This faceless man was the great darkness and Aidan understood he was watching Marcus destroy the world.
But Allie shone as a beacon of light in that void. Shadowed young Immortals came to stand with her. Strong and powerful, they were united with the strength of their ancestors. They shielded Allie with an aura of power and protection. They were the pathway through the abyss. They would find the light of the future together. The uncertainty frightened the older generations, but it excited these brave, young warriors.
Only they would have the strength and power to fight the darkness and move their people forward. Their biggest obstacle wasn’t the unknown: it was their parents and grandparents. It was their leaders and teachers who told them time and again that they didn’t matter because they were too young. Allie stood as their champion. To stop her was to let the darkness win—a darkness that already held sway within the world.
Aidan’s head fell forward as the prophetic moment faded into nothing. Silence echoed across the ancient chamber. He took a deep breath as the sound of movement returned. Quiet murmured conversation hummed all around the courtroom, but Aidan only had eyes for Allie. She sat beside her grandmother, lacking the strength to stand.
Aidan couldn’t fathom why he’d ever doubted her. His instincts told him to protect her for as long as he could, but he should have known she didn’t need that. Allie was strong. She would weather the storm ahead of them and she would be the one to lead them all. Not him. Aidan wasn’t meant to fight this battle alone. He should have been fighting beside her this whole time. His biggest mistake wasn’t trying to protect her; it was leaving her in the first place.
Aidan ached to go to her. Allie’s tearstained cheeks did nothing to dispel her authority. For surely everyone in the room who just witnessed the queen’s prophecy would never dispute Allie’s claim to the throne of Indriell ever again. Seeing the prophecy for herself was probably more than she could bear in this moment. It damn near broke his heart to watch it.
Silence echoed across the ancient chamber before murmured conversation rose in a din around him. But Allie’s deep, shuddering breath was the only sound he could hear.
Stand up, Alexis Ann. You’re the strongest person I know. The prophecy isn’t just about you; it’s about all of us. Get up and show them who you are.
Allie nodded, settling her eyes on Aidan. Reaching for her grandmother’s hand, she got back on her feet.
“Seeing is believing,” Allie said, her voice a soft echo, commanding their attention.
“I think we can all agree that Alexis Carmichael is the undisputed heir of Indriell and the child of prophecy,” Chairwoman Thomas said with an unsteady voice. “Yet the court needs to determine what that means in terms of her authority in the modern world.”
“Really, Chairwoman Thomas?” Sarah scoffed. “That is quite a leap.”
“Have you ever witnessed a prophet speak, Sarah?” she asked. “I have. My father was a prophet with nothing resembling the talent the queen possesses, but I know a true prophecy when I see one. No one here can deny what we just witnessed was indeed the original prophecy. Not even you.”
“Are you prepared for what comes next?” Chief Justice Sarah Madison asked the Senate. “It is Soma today, but what happens when this girl desires more power? We cannot allow her the kind of authority the royals are suggesting.”
“Do not put words in my mouth,” Allie said. “I have no desire to rule. Perhaps the court should ask me why I seized Soma in the first place?”
“You have the floor,” Chairman Thomas said.
“I never wanted anything from you,” Allie said. “I just wanted to be left alone to run Soma as
an independent safe haven for young students to come and learn without the threat of being used for their talents.”
“While you train your students to support your bid for power wherever you can?” Charles Madison accused.
“No more interruptions,” Chairman Thomas said. “Let the heir speak.”
“I initiated the takeover of Soma before Chief Justice Sarah and Charles Madison could do so,” Allie announced to the wild murmurs spreading across the room. “I couldn’t allow Soma to become a government institution. We must provide a place for our children that has no ties to any government.”
Aidan finally saw her game, and he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it himself. My girl is freaking brilliant. He fought the grin tugging his lips. Allie wasn’t going to let Sarah or Charles walk away from this. She was going to take them down, right here, right now.
“How do you know the Chief Justice meant to seize Soma?” Chairman Thomas asked.
“Move to strike the question,” Charles said. “This child is skating on thin ice with her accusations.”
“Denied. The Chair would like to hear her answer,” the chairman said. “Please continue, Alexis.”
“The Milan Initiative,” Allie said. “A top secret organization meant to take over Soma with the aid of a Syntrophos army Sarah and Charles have built.”
“Syntrophos?” Outraged cries rang out among the Senate.
“What do you mean, Syntrophos?” Chairman Thomas asked.
Allie glanced at Aidan and his team. Will you show them?
Hell, yes, we will. “She means us. The Special Forces team,” Aidan said. He turned and nodded to his soldiers. “Show them.”
Aidan and Naomi were the first to drop the protective facade shielding their bond from the Senate. The others followed, one by one, until all five Syntrophos couples stood proudly, allowing the Senate to experience the bond for themselves. Allie and Darius followed suit, as did Sasha and Quinn. Collectively, their power surged together. Their bonds ignited among all the Syntrophos, feeding off one another, leaving no doubt in the minds of those who witnessed it that a Syntrophos army was something to be feared.
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