Wishing I Could Save Myself from a Life I Despise: My Shadowed Life Series

Chapter 31: Council of Quora

This wasn't edited very well... and wattpad is malfunctioning so, I hope this show up this time!

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Chapter 31: Council of Quora

“Are you ready?” Maxim asked, looking as thoughtful and compassionate as always.

He stood behind me and slid his left hand around my waist and encompassed my stomach, stopping only to stroke it lovingly before continuing across it to grab my right hand in his left and place our palms together. Our fingers knitted together as if they were welded into one entity. An all too familiar sensation shot through me as our symbols connected. The tingling, the flow of energy throughout us both was an oddly pleasurable and comforting sensation.

To think I had been afraid of this? If I had known all along what the bond would be like, I never would have been so reluctant and held out for so long. I fretted endless hours and wasted countless tears over nothing. Now, I was fretting for an entirely different reason, Max.

I was incredibly nervous, more so than I had been in a very long time. We were standing outside of the council house, called Quora’s Arena, which was more like an amphitheatre. It was no less intimidating than what I would gather it would have been like to be standing outside of the Roman Coliseum before a gladiator fight, if you were the gladiator. It was an awe inspiring site. Grand pillars made of ivory marble streaked with grey and black veins towered above us. In the center was an archway so glorious I’m certain the Greek Gods would have been amazed by its beauty.  

As I stared inside, I noticed that the entrance gave way to a circular room that was as big as a football field is long. There were rows upon rows of seating around the circumference that descended, creating a shallow bowl-like appearance. Just beyond the center of the circle was a long stone table that resembled a judge’s bench, with five exquisitely crafted chairs behind it. In front of the table was a tall stone contraption that looked like a large Y. I stared at the spectacle before me with both amazement and confusion. I had never in my life seen anything like this before, nor did I dream that I ever would.

I turned my head and looked upon Max with a nervous expression. I was very worried about his trial, about how the council would side. Would they punish him because he broke a very critical rule and used magic against a human, or would they show mercy and leniency because he was defending his bonded one? I didn’t have much experience in the mystical world, but the small feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach that was slowly rising, was cause for alarm.

I felt a hand on my shoulder that I knew did not belong to Max and turned to greet my friend and confidant. Gabe smiled at me, his lapis eyes straining to show calm although I knew he was just as concerned for his brother as I was. He had spoken to key members of the five person council, but came back with a forlorn expression. I was uncertain what punishments were possible, but I was certain however, that none of them were very good.

“Relax cheri, I’ll be fine. Don’t get upset about this. It may be detrimental to the ba...” Max started, but was interrupted by a very deep voice. The sound of it was stately, yet intimidating. I shuddered, not in a good way, as the voice fell on my ears. There was something about it that made my insides squirm and urged me to run away screaming.

“Maxim, Gabriel.” The voice greeted impassively.

“I shouldn’t be surprised to find you mixed up in this scandal Maxim. Do you not understand the boundaries of our society?” The man scolded obstinately.

I took a moment to survey him. He was tall about 6’2”, an inch or so taller than Gabe and Max, with dirty blond hair that was longer than shoulder length but was pulled back into a loose gathering at the nape of his neck. His eyes were dark brown, perhaps the darkest shade I had ever seen. It was so deep in fact, that it was almost black. The only reason I knew it was not, was by the way the sunlight filtered through the skylights in the domed roof and reflected in his eyes, casting a brown sheen across them. He was good looking, but something about his placid look struck me as deceiving.