Chapter 6 · Bleed for the Family

The trial ground smelled like rust and old smoke. Lucan stood in the center of the circle, dirt under his boots, and counted the faces ringing him in the dawn light. Eighteen. Maybe twenty. All Vey blood, or close enough to claim it. None of them looked like they wanted him to walk out.

Mira stood three paces to his left, just outside the chalk line. Her hand rested on her blade hilt, but her eyes were on the elder at the far edge. The old man held a bone rod, waxy and yellow, and he hadn't stopped staring at Lucan since they'd dragged him out here.

The funeral bell had rung four hours ago. Lucan's trial started now.

"Lucan Vey." The elder's voice scraped like a shovel on stone. "You stand accused of theft. Blood theft. The kind that marks a man for the pyre."

Lucan didn't answer. His ribs still ached from yesterday's fall, and his left hand felt like someone had driven nails through the palm. The Ledger sat cold against his chest, hidden under his shirt. It hadn't said a word since the bell.

"Speak or step down," the elder said.

Lucan met his eyes.