“We don’t have that kind of time,” she surmised, seeing in his body that this was killing him. He had nothing but respect for Grandmama—to face these hard truths was wearing on him. To face the role she played in his own heartache. Charity wondered if he’d been mostly avoiding thinking about it since he’d learned of it, right before they’d decided to leave the Flush for the Brink. He certainly hadn’t spoken about it. Now he would have to pick at the scar, open the wound, and allow himself to fully heal.
To do that, he had to officially accuse his mother of wrongdoing. They all did.
“With Lucifer’s heir revealing herself, and with the unrest in the Realm, and the elves…no,” he said softly. “We do not have that kind of time. And from what I am gathering, the village wouldn’t allow us to try, anyway. Not without a reckoning of some kind. She and some of the elders have been holding people here without their consent. Without their knowledge. She has been breaking our rules. They must voice their displeasure. They have to, in order to heal.”
“They want a trial.”
“Yes.” He took a deep breath. “We thought they might, but…”
“You hoped maybe we could just talk it out.”
“I do not want to see my mother’s name dragged through the mud. She meant well, I believe that. She wanted to do what was best for her people.”
“That will come out in the trial.” Charity hoped her shallow words weren’t coming through her movements. She wasn’t sure if Grandmama felt even the least bit sorry for what she’d done, and even if she had originally meant well, now she seemed hellbent on maintaining her control. She didn’t know how easily the people would forgive her. Or maybe that was just her own anger talking.
“We must meet with everyone shortly to set a trial date and time. We’ll have to do it quickly. I fear the elves will get restless if we don’t take Reagan to them quickly.”
“And Emery?”
“Emery is a grudge match, nothing more. He showed his power and caught them unaware. They want to make an example of him, that is all. That should be easy enough to talk around. Lucifer’s heir, though…” His shoulders tensed, and she didn’t know what that meant. “That is another matter.”
“Will you allow Roger to sit in on the trial? Or Reagan?”
“No. And certainly not the vampire. No, this is a private matter. Roger needs to know who is in charge. He does not need to know the why. After the trial, we should have a better idea. Once that happens, we can move swiftly, I think. Hopefully.”
That was all they really had right now: a bunch of dirty laundry, danger, and a long list of hopefullies.
Fifteen
The day had been unpardonably dull so far, and given we were sliding into early evening, it didn’t seem like it would get much better. The soggy toast soaked in what tasted like sugar and honey and spices for breakfast had been decent, but the egg-like things served with them had been a little gross. I couldn’t put my finger on why, though. Maybe because it was an unidentified type of animal, and I tended to like knowing what was going into my mouth. What if they’d stolen those bad boys, and now we’d have a pissed-off magical creature after us? It would be a good hazing situation.
Wandering around, looking for more of Penny’s rocks, had only been fun because she tromped into people’s yards and they pretended not to notice. That was a green light for me to peer into their windows to see how far they’d go before saying anything. Turned out, it was really far. Sometimes they didn’t even glance over in annoyance. Didn’t even flick their eyes my way! It was a lesson in self-restraint that had me really admiring these people. I never could’ve pulled it off.
The cucumber-like sandwiches for lunch were gross. I didn’t know what they were attempting with those, but whatever it was, it had failed. I ate them, because I was hungry, but told Darius in no uncertain terms that he’d better start cooking or we’d have a problem. I didn’t know how he was going to manage without an oven, but I had faith he’d figure something out.
Now, early evening, kind of dreading dinner, Penny, Emery, Darius, and I had been wandering around aimlessly, but we were running out of things to do. Per Charity’s request, we were giving her people time to sort themselves out. But man, this place boasted some horrible hobbies to pass the time. I didn’t want to do any of them. Painting? I suck at it, thanks. Cross-stitch? Why bother? Table making? Good Lord, where is the alcohol…
Callie and Dizzy, tired from the traveling, were taking time to lounge. If only I was tired enough to do the same thing.