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“You said what?” Ria asked, the surprise written on her face. She adjusted her doctor’s gown as she leaned back against the wall of the hospital.
“You’re obligated to listen to me,” I recalled. Even after two days, I was still in disbelief that I’d actually said that.
“I can’t believe you did that.”
I chuckled softly, the adrenaline still buzzing through me. “Me either. I did that.”
“It was time, don’t you think?”
“I agree.” I shot her a proud smile, one that quickly faded. “I just hope it pays off. How’s Heike doing?”
“She’s stable.” My friend gestured me to follow her and we ventured through winding halls of the hospital. Downstairs, up again, through lots of doors, until we reached what looked like a janitor’s closet.
“This is where you treated her?”
Ria fished a key from her gown and clicked the door open. “I kept her away from everyone else, per your instructions.”
“Good.”
The bright lights flickered before they turned on and cast a white light on a pale figure. Her clammy hair stuck to her face and her laboured breathing rasped through her room.
“I see no difference,” I noted, not able to keep the disappointment out of my voice.
“She’s alive, Bryn.” Ria placed a hand on my arm, but her worried expression wasn’t very reassuring.
“She’s not awake.”
“Yet. Give me time.”
“Why hasn’t she woken yet? Is it the poison?”
My friend sighed. “I know the poison wasn’t good for her, but her injuries are grave. Even without the poison, she might never have woken up.”
“But...” I stared at Heike, her lifeless face churning my stomach. “She can’t die. Without her wings, she can’t ascend. She’ll fade away.”
“Sometimes that happens. I see it more often than you think.”
I ground my teeth together. “No, that’s not happening. I won’t let it.”
“You don’t get to decide that.”
“Yes, I do. I’m the Heir of the East.”
Ria shot me a sad smile. “I’m afraid even the Heir is no match for death.”
“I guess not.” I shot a last look at Heike and nodded. “I’ve seen enough. Besides, the hearing starts soon.”
“Good luck. Will you need me?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ll send a messenger if I do, so keep your schedule open.”
Ria nodded. “Will do.”
“If there’s any change to Heike’s condition, let me know as soon as possible.”
We embraced and I left. I had a hearing to go to. With worry beating in my heart, I made my way to the Mansion where I was the first to arrive.
I sat by the entrance, waiting for the others to get here.
Doctor Wagner was the first to step through the entrance. Instead of his usual outfit, he was wearing a long coat and carrying a briefcase. He tapped his hat and took place across from me. He unfolded a newspaper from his coat and started reading, much better prepared for the wait than I was.
After a couple of minutes, Stina entered. She seemed confused until she saw me. “Bryn!”
I gave her a short nod. “Stina.”
She rushed toward me. “So you were summoned too? Do you know why we’re here?”
A lump formed in my throat. She sounded so confused and innocent, but I needed to remind myself she was far from it. She was just a master at lies.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” I replied, before turning the other way. I wasn’t interested in talking to her, not after everything she’d done.
She didn’t seem to get the hint. She sat down next to me and reduced her voice to a whisper. “This isn’t about the party and that guy you shoved, right?”
“What?”
“Well, I mean... Why else is doctor Wagner here?”
I stared at her, dumbfounded by her reasoning. Even after being summoned, she didn’t suspect that she’d been discovered? She must have had a real low opinion of me.
I refused to engage and waited until Grandmamma emerged from her quarters. “Come in.”
Stina grabbed my wrist. “What do we do?”
For the first time ever, I saw a different version of her. Her cocky arrogance was gone and replaced by a worried uncertainty.
“That’s right, you’ve never been summoned before,” I noted, slightly elated. “This must be torture for you.”
“It is. Is this what you go through every time she calls you?”
“More or less,” I admitted. I pulled my arm free and followed Grandmamma into her office. There were no official chambers or rooms assigned for things like this, it would just be solved by Grandmamma’s verdict. Whatever she decided, was final.
“Where do I stand?” Stina whispered to me.
I gestured to the left side. “There.”
“Oh, good.” She took place on her side, frowning when she realised I wasn’t joining her. “Why are you over there?”
Grandmamma cleared her throat. “Silence. We’re here to start the hearing. Stina Senadottir versus Brynhild Beryldottir.”
Stina’s shocked face was priceless. “What?”
“Silence!” Grandmamma demanded. She grabbed the written accusation that I prepared over the days I was here and scanned it, her eyes wide behind her small glasses. “Hmmm...”
The first signs of discomfort started to show on Stina’s face. Her feet and hands grew restless with every passing moment of silence, but she didn’t dare speak again.
Grandmamma nodded and turned her attention to my ex-friend. “Stina Senadottir, you’re accused of grieving your classmate and fellow East Wind Child, Heike Hanadottir. The victim is not currently present since she’s still unconscious, but my own granddaughter, Brynhild Beryldottir will represent her.”
Stina scoffed loudly. “This is ridiculous. Bryn, are you serious?”
“Dead serious,” I replied.
“You’re crazy. The storm was an accident.”
She was such a liar.
“I overheard you admitting to the headmaster that you ripped Heike’s wings off!”
Her eyes widened and shock passed across her face, but she quickly regained control. “You’re making things up. Ask the headmaster, he’ll vouch for me,” she said with such decisiveness, it could have almost convinced me.
“He’s a compromised witness. I know you’re blackmailing him,” I countered, trying to mimic the same confidence she had. I didn’t quite succeed, but I kept going. “I know you poisoned Heike to keep her unconscious, to keep her silent. If she were awake, she’d testify against you.”
“Why are you doing this to me, Bryn?”
The sudden softness of her voice startled me. “Huh?”
She sniffed. “I know you feel guilty about what happened, but are you seriously trying to pin your failures on me? After everything I’ve done for you?”
I stared at her, taken off guard by the sudden display of emotion. I’d never seen her vulnerable before and I couldn’t tell whether it was genuine or not.
It had to be fake... Right?
Hesitantly, I snuck a glance at Grandmamma. She hadn’t broken up our argument, although it was highly immature. Did that mean she believed me? Or was she just humouring me?
“I...” I stared at the girl I’d considered my best friend for many years. I wanted to believe I was mistaken, I wanted her to stay my ally. Maybe she was right, maybe I was just projecting, maybe—
The image of Heike’s ripped open back flashed through my mind. The bloody gashes, the deep valleys of pain. They couldn’t have been from the incident. Someone tore them from her back, someone with no conscience and no regard for life.
That cruel person was Stina. I knew she was, I just didn’t want to believe it. But the truth deserved to come out and Heike deserved justice. We all did.
I tore my gaze away from Stina’s begging eyes and aimed myself at Grandmamma. “Matriarch, I know what I heard. I know Stina harmed Heike, I know she’s been poisoning her. I’ve brought a witness today, Doctor Wagner, who will testify that I’m speaking the truth.”
Grandmamma nodded. “Doctor Wagner, step forward.”
The slender man obeyed in silence.
“Can you confirm that you’re a doctor at the Afterlife Academy?” Grandmamma questioned.
He nodded. “I can confirm.”
“And can you confirm that Heike Hanadottir was a patient in your care?”
“I can confirm.”
She pulled the flimsy glasses from her nose and shot him one of her meanest glares. “On your professional opinion, do you agree that Heike Hanadottir was poisoned?”
“I agree, yes.”
Relief washed over me. There it was, the truth. Bare and in the open.
Grandmamma clicked her tongue. “Can you confirm that Stina Senadottir is the one who poisoned your patient?”
Doctor Wagner exchanged a look with me before he answered. “No, I merely know my patient was suffering from poisoning. I can’t confirm or deny that it was at the hand of Stina Sendottir.”
Fuck.