Crown of Hidden Scales novel · Chapter 21 of 24
Chapter 21: The Hearing
They tried Hesper Lisle in the great hall at noon, with the doors thrown open to the city.
The nobles stood along the walls, because the aisles were full.
Weavers and bakers, mill hands from Brannock, and grey soldiers' wives were packed in under the high windows.
They held their hats in their hands.
Rhain would not sit the black throne.
He stood in front of it, bareheaded, with the true crown on a cushion at his feet.
The Wyrm's mouth glowed gold in the floor beside him.
"The stone hears everyone," I said to the hall. "Anyone who saw what she did may say it."
"She stands on it last."
The first to come up was the girl with the rag doll.
Somebody had washed her face and put her in a clean smock, and she carried the doll under one arm.
She stopped on the stone and looked up at me.
"Do I have to tell the lie part?" she asked.
"Only the true part," I said.
"There was a lady in black," said the girl.
"She watched them tie us up. A man pulled my rope too tight, and she told him to be gentle, because we were little."
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of Crown of Hidden Scales are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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