Page 188 of Maksym

“How many times did you raise it?”

“A lot.”

“How many times did she agree?”

“Never.”

The answer moved through the chamber cleanly.

Grace let it breathe.

“Tell the Council what she said.”

Ironwood’s counsel rose again. “Objection. Hearsay.”

Grace did not turn this time. “Statement of the alleged victim’s then-existing state of mind regarding consent to the bond, consent to replacement, and intent toward Sage Lynch. It is also directly responsive to Ironwood’s theory that Madelyn was open to a wolf mate.”

A faint silence followed.

The Magistrate’s gaze lingered on Grace for one long second. Then he said, “Overruled. The witness will answer.”

Grace looked back at Sloan.

Sloan’s first tear slipped down her face. “She said people should be with who they love. That species didn’t get to decide that for them.”

The words entered the record and stayed.

“She said Iron Valor had all kinds. Wolves, hybrids, people who didn’t fit neat boxes. She said family was who bled for you and showed up when it mattered.” Sloan wiped at her cheek with one hand, then gripped the stand again. “And she said she trusted the Goddess’s choice.”

Grace’s voice softened only by a shade. “Did she ever qualify that?”

Sloan nodded once. “She said as long as the other person didn’t reject it.”

Nikolay’s face changed.

Not much. A tightening around the mouth. A flicker across the eyes. But I had known him too long not to see it. There were words that entered a man like a blade and only found their hilt later.

Grace asked, “Did she say Nikolay had rejected it?”

“No.”

“Did she fear he might?”

“Yes.”

“Did she say that fear made Sage Lynch her mate?”

“No.”

“Did she say that fear made her willing to participate in a ritual to break the bond?”

“No.”

“Did she ever, to your knowledge, consent to replacing Nikolay with Sage?”

“No.”

The prosecution half-rose again, then seemed to reconsider. Their table had begun to resemble a ship taking on water while its captain insisted the deck remained dry.