Chapter 9 · The Court's Dirty Ledger

"Kneel, Helen Vale."

The judgment collar snapped shut around my throat before I could take another step.

Cold metal bit into my skin. The bloodstone beneath my jaw flared red, then sent a line of fire straight through my chest.

I grabbed the chain with both hands. "Take it off."

Judge Orlan leaned over the Blackstone Throne, one hand resting on the royal seal carved into its armrest.

"You don't give orders here."

"Then stop pretending this is a trial." I pulled against the chain. It didn't move. "You signed my death warrant before I walked in."

Nobles shifted behind the iron rail. Most of them watched with the bright, greedy silence of people who'd paid for front-row seats at an execution.

Marek Voss stood beside the judges in his black military coat.

He wasn't looking at the collar.

He was looking at me.

That hurt worse.

His mouth curved like he remembered exactly how I'd once begged him to stop lying to me.

"She's unstable," Marek said. "The collar is necessary."

I turned my head as far as the metal allowed.