Chapter 12: The Mirror

The Moon Court met in a round stone hall in Stonehaven with no roof.

On the night of the new moon, the sky above it was black and full of stars.

Every Alpha in Montana sat on the stone benches.

There were seven of them, each with a Beta behind them.

Every one stared at me when I came in.

Agnes walked beside me in her good grey dress.

She took my hand and squeezed it once, hard.

"Whatever happens," she said, "you walk out of here on your own feet."

Alaric walked on my other side in his black suit.

He didn't touch me.

In the middle of the hall stood a tall stand of black stone. A heavy white cloth covered the thing on top of it.

My father sat in the front row, in his grey suit.

My sister sat next to him in a long grey robe with a white collar.

She had put her hair up. She looked calm and clever and sweet.

The Speaker rose.

"The Court hears a petition," she said. "Delphine MacAulay, Mate-Law Fellow of Luna Academy, asks that the claim of the Alpha King be tested."

"Fellow MacAulay," she said. "Say your piece."

Delphine stood and folded her hands.

"Your Majesty," she said, and bowed to Alaric.

"Speaker. Alphas. I'm only a student, but the law is clear. A King's claim must be shown, not simply stated."

"My sister is twenty years old," she went on. "She was rejected, banished, and claimed within an hour. I love her, and I'm frightened for her."

"If the claim is true, the Mirror will say so, and I will kneel and beg her pardon."

"If it isn't true, she's in the hands of a liar."

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