Trial by Obsidian

by Naomi Kelly

  "You are probably enjoying being on that side of the court," Teriam scoffed, "No truth serum this time?"

  He had aged a decade since the last time I saw him. There was a certain fragility in the way he twisted to face Mara,

  "If she has her way, we will both be hung-"

  "A wise man once told you that you cannot build new worlds on old practices," I interjected.

  Reuben struggled to swallow his smirk, "Wise huh?"

  "She would be well within her right to suggest execution," Edvan announced as he turned to me , "Do you have any ideas?"

  Teriam's wise eyes tried to look stern but raw fear flashed in his unwavering gaze.

  "I would never execute you Teriam. You were kind to me when I needed it most, but unfortunately that same kindness made you an easy target of manipulation by Karnes. I understand your loyalty and fear to him but at some point, you have to be accountable for your own actions."

  Although my words were directed at the doctor, it was Mara who looked the most hurt.

  "If you can't raise your voice to the men who order you, I would suggest you go where the men do not shout. Surround yourself with quieter men. Farmers instead of soldiers."

  He stiffened, "You would have me exiled to Deshure?"

  "No, not exiled- relocated. You will never be able to practice medicine here again," I said, and looked to Reuben for reassurance.

  He shook his head, "She is right, I would never trust you,"

  "The people of Deshure are long overdue a doctor. You could do good there. You would be respected and purposeful," I offered, "But that's just my suggestion."

  Edvan sat back and crossed him arms, "I think it is as generous a deal as you're going to get."

  "When would I leave?" he barely spoke.

  "The Coven are planning on returning to the south in three days’ time. You will ride with them so Bryar can keep an eye on you," Reuben said, "I will arrange boarding for you by the market so you're easily accessible to those who need your treatment. You will be receiving funding for further supplies but in the meantime pack up whatever equipment you need here."

  "I want every vial of the serum you ever created destroyed," Edvan ordered, "Starting with the poison you gave my cousin. I want your study notes, instructions, ingredients- All of it fully destroyed."

  Teriam nodded as if his head were the weight of steel and began shuffling his way towards the exit.

  "Let him keep the Soothing Salve," I blurted, "But nothing else."

  Reuben nodded courtly, "You heard her, now go and prepare to leave. You're dismissed."

  Reuben waited for the door to click shut before he turned his attention to Mara.

  "I was worried about you. Both of you," she said as she looked upon her pseudo-son and nephew.

  Huh, don't even pretend to care about my existence, I mused internally but remained quiet. As did Edvan. This was Reuben's moment to speak.

  "Why did you not stop him?" he asked. His voice resonated through the hall and sliced through her pleasantries.

  I almost felt bad for Mara having to answer his broad question. Did he mean Karnes kidnapping him? Teriam drugging him? The attack against magicians? She had never stopped any of it. She had borne witness to too many an atrocity to know which one she was being held liable for.

  She took a deep breath but barely moved her shoulders or ribs at all. Everything about her was so controlled. Rigid.

  "Karnes had this innate ability to bind you in your place. Either with lies, potions or sheer fear. I was too weak to rise against him, and you suffered because of that. I would not expect you to accept my apology, but I am sorry."

  "Were you afraid of him?"

  "My husband would go to great lengths to protect what he cared about. As long as I did not oppose him, I had no reason to fear," she explained with a sad smile.

  I remembered the scene from Reuben's dream, and the bone denting grip Karnes held on her wrist when she spoke up. Guessing from the way he stretched his fingers and rolled his wrists; I'd say Reuben was remembering it too.

  "You will also be exiled from the Chambers and sent to live with aunt Lissa...Your sister Lissa," he corrected himself.

  "It is perfectly okay if you still want to call her your aunt. She and I can still be your family if you wish," Mara said as she stood, "I always knew you would make a great leader."

  "It is not in my blood to be Alpha."

  "Being an Alpha comes from your heart not your bloodline or surname, the same can be said about family. It has been a privilege to have you in my life."

  "You know nothing of family," Reuben spat venomously, before releasing a shaky breath, "Go to your turret and pack your things. I'll send men to help carry your belongings. You may take whatever you want."

  She curtsied and quietly left the hall. As the door shut, Edvan edged his chair back to face Reuben and I.

  "Why do I get the feeling that we are on trial now?" I asked gingerly.

  "Think of this, not as a trial, but more a privy council. Tomorrow is the ranking ceremony, yet you still refuse to be called Alpha," Edvan said.

  "Because I am not," Reuben shrugged.

  "You're next in line."

  "I'm a magician, therefore it defaults to you."

  "I will not be an usurper-"

  "Then I abdicate," Reuben snarled and crossed his arms.

  "You would make me Alpha?"

  "Yes Edvan."

  "I have always looked to you for leadership and advice. Your men do too, that has not changed. The Chambers need you. Sinlara needs you. Deshure needs-

  "Alright. You've made your point."

  "I need you," he continued regardless, "You want change for the better, but you cannot implement that from the side-lines. You are not only wanted but needed here."

  Reuben remained still. As did Edvan. They just stared at each other in weighted silence.

  "For how long?" I blurted, unable to match their level of controlled silence.

  "I do not have a set date, but it would take time. My best guess would be three years. We need to tackle overcrowding in Sinlara, that is still a key-issue, then there is the poverty in Deshure, not to mention the Aspen Amendment."

  My blood ran cold upon hearing Reubens birth-name.

  Sensing my dread, he quickly added, "It is nothing bad, just the new legislation I wish to instate. It would declare citizens from both districts and magicians equal. I want to open the border for trade deals and legal jobs, not slavery."

  "You are already acting like an Alpha. The title suits you," Reuben unfolded his arms and rubbed his temples.

  "I do not want to pull the hierarchy card but as your Alpha, I insist that you stay," he said firmly, but a smile shone from his eyes, "Please cousin."

  Reuben looked to me asking a hundred questions without saying anything. I simply nodded.

  "I must talk to Juniper about it."

  "But we will stay," I said firmly, putting Edvan out of his misery.

  Edvan slapped Reuben's back and pulled me into an awkward, unrequited hug.

  "We will be friends yet Juniper," he winked and headed towards the door with a bounce in his step, "Chose a name for tomorrow. Be it Beta, Second Alpha...hell even, Zephyrus."

  Twenty

  The door to the suite had barely closed behind us when Reuben slumped onto the edge of the bed, "I feel like I'm trapping you if we stay."

  "I see no shackles here," I said and sat by his side, "Unless your big arms count."

  He held no humour in his eyes.

  "This is the change we need for Deshure, besides I can make myself useful here. If Edvan allows me."

  "What is it, you would want to do?"

  "I would like to send word to villages where remaining magicians could still be in hiding. For years I thought it was just me and Adonis, but then the Coven came along. You came along and gave me hope that maybe more have survived as well. It's possible that the Azurites and Opals were not wiped out, and who knows there could be
other Onyx magicians too."

  "Anything else you would want?"

  "Ideally to establish official records for magicians that document various crystals clans, magical abilities and legends of their powers origins," I said, remembering how my lack of magician knowledge endangered him at Stagton river, and how his own inexperience nearly ripped him apart, "We don't have elders to teach us. We have no surviving word-of-mouth to go by. I want to make sure I'm doing all I can to help future magicians and spare them the hardships we had to endure."

  "Edvan will have no objection to that," he said firmly, “I might however."

  "Why?"

  "I asked you what you wanted, yet once again you always put the welfare of others before yourself."

  "Old habits die hard.” I shrugged and fought the urge to pull at loose threads on the blanket beneath me.

  "Most women want ballgowns and banquets, but you're content with your stinking goats cheese and wonky eared horse."

  "I don't know which is more insulting, the long list of women you seem to be comparing me to or the fact you just mocked Pepper!"

  "You're right. I should not mock Pepper as she can probably hear me from here," he said coolly but he struggled to contain the cheeky dimple that pulled at his lip, "As for you? There is no comparison. No one in this world could ever hold a candle to you, my love."

  He crouched on the floor in-front of me and held both my hands firmly, "I will give you everything you're too selfless to ask for. I will build you a house where-ever you want, complete with a stable for that donkey-eared horse you so love. I will personally haul timber to that tree you like, so you and your brother can rebuild your swing. I'll even smuggle a few verbena trees from the Sinlarn gardens for you too."

  "Oh, be careful. I stole some crystals from Sinlara, and it ended me up in a heap of trouble," I smirked and leaned my forehead against his.

  He immediately groaned but it slowly melted into gentle laughter that made me feel special, for not everyone got to see this side of him.

  "I swear to the gods Juniper, I will give you the home you deserve, but I cannot do it right now."

  "You have a duty to fulfil," I said firmly with a casual shrug as if my heart was not exploding with desire for everything he just said.

  He sighed heavily and rolled his head back, "I wish I didn't but yes, yes I do.

  "Your role here is to safeguard the future for magicians and the citizens of Deshure. It's important work, Reuben. Your plans for me? For us? They can wait."

  "Three years? Or more?"

  "I will always wait."

  "You won't have your home. Or the Coven, or your brother."

  "I know," I acknowledged solemnly, "But Adonis will be safe and happy, that is all I want for him. I'll suggest that Elm moves into our cottage to make more room when her niece arrives-"

  "Her niece?"

  I groaned and buried my face in the pillow beside me,

  "Ugh. I'm too tired to keep secrets."

  Reuben pulled himself onto the bed beside me and brushed the flurry of curls away from my face. He remained silent but his beaming smile said it all.

  "I'm sure she'll tell the others soon, but Willow doesn't know it's a girl. Can you keep that hidden?"

  "I managed to keep you hidden, didn't I?" he chuckled, and draped his arm over my shoulders, "You worked tirelessly to save her. You saved them both."

  "Healing is my duty remember?"

  He nodded and sunk his lips against mine. My tongue paid heed to its desires as it quickly slipped inside his mouth. Our kisses start slow and controlled before turning hot and open-mouthed.

  He rolled onto his back and flipped me with him. I sat upright and pulled myself into his lap, spreading my legs to either side of his muscular thighs.

  The knotted cord of his pants pressed against my inner leg, and it begged to be unravelled.

  "My healer," he whispered close into my ear. Shivers raced down my neck and caused me to arch my spine.

  "My Beta," I purred, before pausing, "Or is it Second Alpha? Just Reuben? Have you chosen a title?" I immediately regretted asking. This could wait, my body could not.

  "I will work in Sinlara but for the benefit of Deshure. A ranking Chamber man yet an Onyx magician. I was thinking "Ambassador" was quite apt. Ambassador Reuben Onyx."

  It was perfect. He was perfect. I nodded enthusiastically unable to form words without getting emotional.

  I leaned in to kiss him once more, but he carefully guided me to lay me down on my back instead.

  He positioned himself above me, placing his palm against the wall behind us. His towering figure of man and muscle stayed steady over me, although it did not once feel imposing or threatening. My eyes drank in his masculine form.

  Reuben ran his free hand through his beard, his eyes laden with desire but also something else. He swallowed hard and drew an unsteady breath. He slipped his hand from his jaw towards my hips.

  My heart swelled, and then skipped a beat as he moved from my hip to his pocket.

  "Do you think the title husband would suit me too?" he rasped as he presented me with a ring. A thin gold band, complete with two raw, unpolished black stones in its centre.

  My jaw fell slack, but no air makes its way into my lungs.

  My stomach tightened and chest exploded.

  I could not talk. I could not breathe.

  "One Obsidian crystal. One Onyx. Bryar and the girls helped fuse them together," he explained gently, "It was quite the Coven effort."

  "They knew?" I somehow managed to say.

  "They're better at keeping secrets than you," he smiled with a warmth that melted whatever remained of my body,

  "I tried to ask Adonis' permission too and he rightly told me you were not his to hand over."

  "Obsidians are nothing if not stubborn," I cried and wrapped my arms around his neck.

  "Is that a yes to being my wife?"

  Everything in my life had always been so uncertain.

  Where my next meal would come from? How could I keep Adonis alive another winter?

  And even now, my future was far from secure. But as I looked at him, I knew. I was certain.

  He was my inevitable in my world full of indefinites.

  "Yes. Always yes."

  He slid the ring onto my hand effortlessly, although I should not have been surprised. My body never met him with friction.

  Everything about us just...fit.

  I resumed our kisses and I allowed him to pull me under the covers with his wolfish grin.

  Light and joyous, I gleamed at the life I had come to have, the life I had come to love.

  There was so much more to my existence than just surviving.

  Coming soon…

  Tribulation

  By

  Obsidian