CHAPTER 27: THE TRIAL

Kaelen pov

The holding cell beneath House Valerius was cold and damp, carved from the same ancient stone as the foundation itself. Kaelen sat on the hard bench with his head in his hands, replaying the events over and over in his mind.

He had let his emotions cloud his judgment. Again.

When Lyren attacked, he should have stayed calm, assessed the situation, and ended it quickly without escalation. Instead, he’d fought back, letting anger drive his actions. And his father... his father had thrown himself between them, taken the fire meant for Kaelen.

Why?

The question burned in his mind more painfully than any flame. The same man who had called him a failure, who had banished him to die in the Marches, who had turned his back when Kaelen needed him most... that same man had sacrificed himself to protect him.

It made no sense.

Find your mother, his father had said. She’ll answer your questions about what you really are.

Kaelen’s hands clenched into fists. His father was dying, and he was locked in a cell, unable to help. Unable to learn the truth. Unable to do anything but sit here and feel the weight of his failure pressing down on him.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor outside. Kaelen looked up as torchlight flickered across the stone walls. A figure approached his cell, and when the light fell on his face, Kaelen felt his jaw tighten.

Lyren.

His stepbrother stood outside the bars, dressed in fresh clothes now, his face clean of tears. He looked composed, almost regal, every inch the heir to House Valerius.

"Hello, brother," Lyren said softly.

Kaelen said nothing. He just stared at his stepbrother with eyes that held more sadness than anger.

"You’re probably wondering why I’m here," Lyren continued. "I thought you deserved to know... the council has made their decision. Tomorrow morning, you’ll stand trial for the attempted murder of Lord Valerius. And with Magister Corvain leading the prosecution, I think we both know how that will end."

"You know I didn’t attack Father," Kaelen said quietly. "You know the truth."

Lyren’s smile was cold. "The truth is whatever the council decides it is. And they’ll decide that you, the banished son, the wielder of forbidden magic, returned home seeking revenge against the father who cast you out."

"Why?" Kaelen asked. "Why do this? What do you gain from destroying me?"

"Everything," Lyren replied. "Don’t you see? As long as you exist, as long as Father looks at you with that expression in his eyes... that regret, that wondering... I’ll always be second. Even banished, even called a failure, you’re still his son. His blood. And I’m just..."

He trailed off, but Kaelen understood. "Just the stepson. The replacement."

"Not anymore," Lyren said. "With you gone, truly gone, there will be no question. No doubt. House Valerius will be mine, and mine alone."

Kaelen stood slowly, walking to the bars. "And Father? If he dies, will you feel nothing?"

For just a moment, something flickered across Lyren’s face. Pain, perhaps. Guilt. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared.

"He made his choice," Lyren said. "He chose you. So let him face the consequences."

With that, he turned and walked away, his footsteps fading into darkness.

Kaelen sank back onto the bench. Tomorrow, he would face trial. Tomorrow, Corvain would argue for his execution. And without proof, without witnesses who would speak in his defense, he would be condemned.

He closed his eyes and reached for the Aether, feeling for the threads of life around him. Perhaps if he could just...

But no. He would stay and face whatever comes his way.

-----

The next morning came too quickly.

They led Kaelen through the corridors in chains, his hands bound in iron that burned with suppression runes. The Great Hall had been transformed into a courtroom, with the full council seated at the high table. Citizens of Luminis filled the gallery, their faces a mixture of curiosity and fear.

At the center of the prosecution table sat Magister Corvain, his expression grave and righteous. His eyes met Kaelen’s with cold satisfaction.

"Kaelen Valerius," High Priest Calvess intoned from his position at the council’s center. "You stand accused of the attempted murder of your father, Lord Valerius, through the use of forbidden magic. How do you plead?"

"Not guilty," Kaelen said firmly. "I was trying to save him, not harm him."

Corvain stood smoothly. "A convenient lie. But the evidence speaks otherwise."

For the next hour, Corvain presented his case. Witnesses testified to Kaelen’s resentment of his father, to arguments they’d had, to threats Kaelen had allegedly made. The house guards described finding him standing over Lord Valerius’s burned body, his hands glowing with "unnatural light."

Lyren testified with tears in his eyes, describing how Kaelen had attacked their father in a rage, how he’d tried to intervene, how helpless he’d felt watching his brother’s dark magic at work.

It was masterfully done. By the time Corvain finished, half the room was looking at Kaelen like he was a monster.

Then Idran of Soltair rose to speak in Kaelen’s defense.

"This young man saved our city," Idran said, his voice carrying across the hall. "When the creature attacked, when death threatened us all, Kaelen Valerius stood against it. He wielded Aether magic, yes... but he wielded it to protect, not to harm."

"Aether magic is forbidden," Corvain interrupted. "Its use alone is grounds for execution."

"Forbidden by laws you helped write," Idran shot back. "Laws designed to keep knowledge from those who might challenge your power."

"Careful, Idran," Corvain’s voice grew cold. "You’re dangerously close to heresy yourself."

"Is it heresy to speak the truth? To defend an innocent man?"

"Innocent?" Corvain’s laugh was bitter. "The boy admits to using forbidden magic. He was found standing over his dying father. What more evidence do you need?"

"The evidence of what actually happened!" Idran slammed his staff on the ground. "Lyren Valerius attacked his brother. Lord Valerius intervened and was caught in the crossfire. Kaelen was attempting to heal him when..."

"Lies!" Lyren stood, his face flushed. "My brother speaks nothing but lies to save his master’s pet!"

The hall erupted in shouting. Guards moved forward to restore order. And through it all, Kaelen sat silently, watching his fate being decided by people who had already made up their minds.

Calvess raised his hand for silence. "The council will deliberate."

It took less than ten minutes.

"Kaelen Valerius," Calvess announced, "you are found guilty of attempted patricide through the use of forbidden magic. The sentence is death by execution, to be carried out at sunset today."

The words fell like stones. Around the hall, some people cheered. Others looked troubled. Kaelen simply closed his eyes.

So this was how it ended. Not fighting the Blight, not saving people, not finding his mother or learning the truth. Just... ending, in chains, condemned by lies.

"Any last words?" Calvess asked.

Kaelen opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, the great doors of the hall exploded inward.

Three figures strode through the smoking entrance, power radiating from them like heat from a forge. Tiara, her eyes blazing with restored strength. Joanna, water already swirling around her hands. And Serenya, moving with that otherworldly grace, a smile playing at her lips.

"The trial," Tiara announced, her voice carrying the full weight of her former Archmage authority, "is over."

Chaos erupted.