Chapter 62

SEVEN.

The flames in my hand start to disappear in the wind. Professor Venetia watches me, but he doesn't seem to be scared or anything. I would say part of him is in awe. Same with Amelie.

Vlad is the only one who looks quite... impatient. Like he doesn't like what's going on. He's staring at me with a strange expression too, like he's only seeing me plainly for the first time.

The others emerge from the maze, but I no longer feel any sense of accomplishment. I just stand at the sides, trying to avoid everyone as Professor Venetia announces Vlad's achievement.

"The Hunt draws ever closer," he says as a closing speech. "We only have a few more weeks to train and get our strengths up. After that, it's going to be one man for himself. You will make your journey to the Sacred Lands, where the Crown was last seen. The land is vast and the possibilities are endless. Perhaps by the end of the year, we will finally have a Dragon King that will help us through dark times and lead us all to peace."

It's inspiring, but I can't help but feel bad. I feel strange in my own body. So when he calls us to disperse, I just leave fast.

Only to be followed by Vlad.

"What's up?" I ask him, my walls all going up when he finally catches up to me. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"No, it's not that," he says. "Um... well, you know the school trip is coming. And we're supposed to stay in groups of six, us boys. I listed you along with Wyatt and other... Dragons. I hope that's alright."

"Of course," I say, shaking my head to get rid of the guarded feeling. "I'm sorry about that. I didn’t really remember the school trip. And the thing you said about me earlier...."

"I'm sorry," he whispers. "I just... well, I haven't really heard anything good about fire wielders. You can ask your family about it, though. Maybe the stories about them in my family are just not good."

"I will do that," I say after a pause.

He nods at me, then he just parts ways without saying anything and gets to his car. I get into mine, for a while debating whether I should surprise June.

In the end, I just go home with a burning question in my chest.

Mom and Dad are in the living room, watching some show on the TV. They both look up when I come in, and I try for a smile.

But Mom seems to have seen through it immediately. "What's wrong? Did training not go well?"

"It went... well," I say, sitting on the couch in front of them. "I went in third in place. But uh... something happened. I summoned fire in my hand and they saw it. They called me a fire-wielder. And they said it's an omen."

They look at each other in shock.

"I was just wondering if you know anything about that," I say. "Because Vlad says he doesn't know anything good about them. It was a foreign concept to him. Am I really a bad omen?"

"I don't think so," Dad finally says after a long time. "The first Salvatore is a fire-wielder himself. They say it's a mark of a great Dragon. But well, you know his fate. You know what happened to him. Some blame it on the Human woman, but some blame it on the fire. Most blame both. It can be good, but it can be bad. It depends on who wields it."

"You can do something good with it, we know." Mom smiles at me. "That just strengthens your claim for the Crown. I have a feeling that when the solstice is done, you will be the Dragon King."

* * *

"She said you can come this time," June says through the call. "I'm on my way to the courthouse already. If you want to come, just go. But if you don't, that's okay too."

"I'm going," I say eagerly, getting into my car and pulling my jacket from the backseat. "I'll be there in a minute."

With that, I turn off the call and drive to the courthouse. Nancy apparently did some investigating again and found the court date for the doctor. I don't know how she does it, but I'm led to believe that she might be half as powerful as the federal agency if she keeps doing this. Even now, I don't know if I should be impressed or annoyed.

I arrive at the courthouse and June and Nancy are already there. June kisses me, but Nancy doesn't even move. I don't think she even looked at me when she started to beckon us inside.

We're let in without a problem, which shocked me given that we're teenagers dressed normally. We even find the exact courtroom that would accommodate the trial of Alexei Romanov.

We head inside, again with very little restriction. We sit at the back, finding it strange that the trial doesn't have a lot of people attending it.

And it's already starting when we enter.

Alexei Romanov is alone in his table. He doesn't have any lawyers. The detective is there on the prosecutor's side. They don't have any witnesses lined up, it seems. The court is going off of evidence they found in the basement of the morgue. They're flashing pictures from a projector and the very few people attending the court case look uncomfortable. The jury looks like they want to get out of there.

I don't blame them. Somehow it's even more gory in the pictures than in real life.

But the biggest surprise has to come from Alexei Romanov himself, who just laughs at the things unfolding in front of him like he's flicking through a particularly funny comic book.

The judge looks at him, but before she can open her mouth, Alexei gets up to his feet. He's bound by his wrists and ankles so his movements are limited, but the guards still move to restrain him.

But he laughs them off. "Relax, relax. I'm just here to point out that we have very important guests. Witnesses, you can say. These kids were the ones who busted my operation, and they're sitting at the back."

He turns around and looks at us.

Horror jumps in my throat. I can tell that June is scared, but Nancy is strangely calm.

Alexei smiles, then he meets my eyes. All the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. "There he is. He wrestled me to the floor when they called him. He's a strong one. If you want the truth about the whole thing, just ask that young man. He knows. He's in it—"

"That is enough, Mister Romanov," the judge interjects, and the guards push him back down on his seat.

But Alexei seems to be determined to continue. "I'm telling you the truth, your honor. Those three kids are responsible for my arrest. And now they're here, I assume, to watch me get put to justice. I don't know if that's going to come, since you're all too incompetent to actually use the witnesses."

Detective Harris looks around and finds us. His expression turns from confused to angry. June is tugging at my sleeve now, so I get to my feet and lead her to the door.

Nancy remains, and only when I look back does she decide to get up and follow me.

There's something awfully wrong with her just sitting there like nothing is wrong. I'm starting to get suspicious too. Why did she bring us here in the first place? So the criminal can put us on blast like that?

My horror is slowly turning into anger. I get out of the courtroom with June's hand in mine. She seems to be hyperventilating.

Her face is slick with sweat and her lips are pale. One outside, I help her take off her jacket so she can feel a little cooler, but that doesn't seem to be enough.

I shoot an angry look at Nancy, and to my surprise, she smiles at me.

My anger nearly breaks through the surface. I look at June. "Do you want to stay in my car for a while? Just to block off the noise and the heat? I'll turn on the air conditioner for you."

"Yes, please," June pants, then her face contorts with guilt. "I'm so sorry, Seven. I didn't mean to react like this. Something about that man just scares me so much. Especially when I remember what happened...."

I kiss her forehead. "It's okay. Come inside and I'll be with you shortly."

She nods, lying down in the backseat as soon as I open the door and help her in. She curls up and tries to relax, so I close the door and face Nancy at last.

"We need to talk. Now."