The Thirteenth Moon novel · Chapter 12 of 24

Chapter 12: The Charge

I went down the loft ladder with the quilt around me and took the paper out of Torin's hand.

It was two pages in Davin's careful handwriting, and every line had been written for the Council to read.

It said that Torin Ashe, an exile under the old law, had returned to Harrow Ridge and corrupted the promised Luna before her hearing.

It asked that the hearing be moved to the next night, so that "the pack could be spared a prolonged scandal."

It asked, in the last line, for the guard's life under the trespass law.

"Corrupted," I said.

"It's a legal word," Torin said.

"It's an insulting word."

"It's a smart one." He sat down on the cot with his elbows on his knees. "If I'm guilty of that, you're a woman who was led astray, not a woman who refused his oath. Your testimony is worth nothing. The Council sets aside everything you've said and rules for him by default."

"They can't. I haven't been led anywhere."

"You were in bed with me at dawn."

"That was my idea."

"Not on paper it wasn't."

I dressed in my own clothes with my back to him, furious, and braided my hair so tightly my scalp hurt.

"I'm going to see the envoy."

"I'll come."

"Three steps behind me, guard."

He almost smiled.

The envoy had taken the guest room over the cookhall, a plain whitewashed room with a narrow bed and a desk.

She was already dressed and already holding a copy of the same letter, which meant Davin had sent it to her first.

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