Free The Spell Realm by Dima Zales, Anna Zaires Page B

oscillating between wonder and resentment. Blaise got up too, and was about to walk away when Shram reached out and grabbed his arm.
    “Thank you, sorcerer,” he said gruffly. “For this and for saving my life earlier.”
    And before Blaise could react, the man walked away, apparently as uncomfortable with this scene as Blaise himself.

Chapter 12: Augusta
     
    On the morning of the vote, Augusta woke up groggy and with a massive headache. She had scarcely slept, tossing and turning all night long, thinking of the impending vote. Every time she drifted off, she dreamed of Barson, images of his death dancing in front of her eyes.
    Crawling out of bed, she forced herself to write a healing spell for her headache, so she could get a semblance of a clear mind. Sleep deprivation was one of the few things they hadn’t quite figured out how to combat with spells; nobody fully understood the physiological process behind sleep and how it helped the human body.
    Once her temples were no longer throbbing, Augusta dressed and got ready. Walking through the Tower halls, she could see the apprentices looking at her with curiosity. The entire Tower was buzzing with rumors and speculation about the upcoming meeting. As she approached the Council Hall, she heard the gong that announced the start of the meeting.
    Most of the Councilors were already gathered inside, and Augusta nodded at them in greeting as she walked over to sit down on her throne. Ganir was already there; as usual, he was the one who had used the gong. Dania was there too, looking uncomfortable and guilty. Augusta guessed that she was not happy about her task.
    Once Kelvin and Furak arrived, the vote began.
    It was a custom as old as the office of the Sorcerer Council itself. Each Councilor had a voting stone that would need to be teleported into one of the voting boxes—red box for Yes, blue one for No. The boxes stood on the Scales of Justice in the middle of the large marble table. When the vote was complete, the weight of the stones would force the Scales to tip in whichever direction the vote was leaning. Afterwards, each of the voting stones would get summoned back to its original owner.
    The process was supposed to be both fair and anonymous, and Augusta wondered again how Blaise had learned how she’d voted at his brother’s trial.
    Ganir sat there silently instead of addressing everyone like he usually did. Looking away from him, Augusta caught Jandison’s gaze. He gave her a barely perceptible nod and got up.
    “Those in favor of taking action against the creature, vote Yes,” Jandison said, addressing the Council in a loud voice. “If we get a No vote, we will discuss what the next option will be.”
    Perfect, Augusta thought. The choices were something unknown versus a clearly defined action. It was human nature to avoid uncertainty. Jandison really was completely on her side, and for the first time, Augusta wondered if he did have what it took to lead the Council in Ganir’s stead.
    At Jandison’s signal, she teleported her voting stone into the red box and waited, holding her breath. A few seconds later, the Scales of Justice tipped, the red box lowering under the weight of the stones.
    The fate of Blaise’s abomination was sealed.
    “It’s done,” Jandison said. “We’ll reconvene to decide what our next move should be.”
    The expression on Ganir’s face was frightening in its stillness. Augusta could sense the fury burning within him, but he didn’t say anything to anyone.
    Instead, the Council Leader got up and left the room.
     
    * * *
     
    Exhausted but triumphant, Augusta made her way back to her quarters. Entering her bedroom, she began to disrobe wearily, desperately needing some rest. There was still a lot to be done—spells to be written, plans to be solidified—but right now, Augusta was only capable of collapsing on her bed.
    Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a flicker of movement. Whirling around in panic,