Against the Wind

13.2 || Raya

Beside her, Hariq shifted. He was always there to catch the panicked squeak of her voice. "Hm?"

She tucked her hands between her legs so he wouldn't feel them shake. "Nothing." Dread plunged in, deep and dizzying. This couldn't be right. She stared harder at the distant beast as if that would force reality to twist, but it remained as it was, compelling her to watch the reflective flit of those round, onyx eyes and wish with all her heart that they weren't so familiar.

A tall figure trailing gold and scarlet ribbons approached the cage, clearly having taken an interest in the guards' struggles with the agitated beast. Raya's thundering heart caught in her throat; it was no surprise for Head Mage Zephyrine to be present at such an event, but still the sight of the powerful mage made her bones crawl, spilling a startlingly effective hush over her anxious, racing thoughts. A blot of rich red, a solitary colour amongst even the prismatic crowds of the arena, she came to a stop between the rod-stiff men and, after a sharp pause that drew several nearby eyes, waved a hand.

Raya was too far to make out the intricacies of the display of magic. All she made out was a brief yellowish hue before a cloud of sparks erupted, speckling the gaps between the bars before engulfing Meag. Forked, blinding shocks wriggled like scars across her body, illuminating scissored sections of her fur in bright flashes, which didn't shake no matter how much she squirmed and stomped her feet. Her whine cut across the arena and yanked in a growing pool of quiet. She hunched in on herself, teeth hidden, her mane spiky with electricity and limbs alive with trembles, suddenly not as huge and fearsome as her outlash had made her seem.

Doused in calm, Zephyrine stepped back. Gold sparked off the circlet laid over her crown of braids and wove strings into her swaying red skirt, casting a glow around her as if she were a droplet of the boiling sun above. A smattering of applause broke out in the section near her and slowly spread across the stands until all attention was on her. Beside Raya, Yasmin let out a soft gasp of awe, leaning forward to clap with excited earnestness. Even her mother further down the row put in a little polite applause, but Raya couldn't move. She twisted her ring over and over until the skin beneath was raw enough to be scrubbed away.

When she'd heard of the tragic deaths, it hadn't even crossed her mind that Corvin might be involved. The commanding mages had described the beastfolk attacker as maddened and violent as its beast companion. It didn't fit. Corvin was kind, unassuming and soft in nature, and he'd shown her that Meag could be too. But if the beast they'd captured was Meag...

She scrunched her shoulders, fighting a shudder. Perhaps it wasn't. Perhaps she was wrong. She was no expert on beasts. She'd seen plenty that looked identical. Sharing so many of Meag's features was not definite confirmation that her and this beast were the same.

Yet, even with the comfort of that logic to cling to, she couldn't bring herself to look at the trembling beast for more than a moment before pity pricked at her heart. Swallowing the hurt, she tore her gaze aside.

The girl in the pit was watching the cage, too, her face much too distant to read. She'd been a whirlwind of anxious movement before, but now she was still, as if stricken by thought.

"Friends!" Like a predator herself, Zephyrine pounced on the brief silence, her voice ricocheting with an unnatural boom that commanded all attention. She spread her arms, long satin sleeves fanned out in the impression of wings thick with blood. "Fellow mages, and beloved citizens of this great city. I have invited you all here today to bear witness to what I believe will be an event history will remember. The trial of young Amina Shi-Sabri!"

More raucous applause, peppered by cheers, erupted in the stands. This time, Raya forced her hands together in a few halfhearted claps, breathing in a deep breath that was drowned out by the noise. Her twisting stomach refused to settle. Her legs itched to flee, but no excuse came to her tongue that might grant her escape. She was bound here, squashed in by the family that flanked her on both sides.