Free The Witch and the Wolf: Part Three by Lola Kidd Page B

planned the seating that way and it made Rory giggle. It wasn’t particularly funny, but she was suddenly nervous.
    Cross squeezed her hand. “This will be over before you know it.”
    “Please have a seat,” Tran instructed. All of the Council members had the same emotionless look. It must have taken years to perfect the facial expression. Up close it was intimidating, like you were giving testimony to a wall. Of course that was the point. You couldn’t know if they were on your side or if you were digging yourself into a hole with your testimony.
    “Thank you,” Rory said.
    “We’ve obviously heard Cross’ take on events. We don’t need to rehash the story,” Susan said.
    “We still have a few questions for you,” Delilah said. “Did you have any idea beforehand that you were half fae?”
    “Not at all,” Rory said. “I didn’t even believe Sophia when she told me we were related.”
    Delilah didn’t nod or move at all to indicate that Rory’s answer was sufficient. Rory steeled her nerves. If they weren’t going to have a conversation with her, she would be as cold as they were. Just give the bare minimum answer to their question and move on.
    “How do you feel about what happened to Sophia and the rest of the Lost Tribe?” William asked.
    “Torn. Some of them may not have deserved to be left behind , but we had to get back to our home. There wasn’t really any other option.”
    “What if we told you that the Lost Tribe you encountered were in fact innocent of their crimes and were only banished as a precaution?” Susan asked.
    Rory blinked twice before answering and kept her expression neutral. The fae had said what if . This was a hypothetical question. “I would feel bad for the Northlands Fae who were left to rot, but it’s not my job to fix the mistakes the Council makes.”
    Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Cross give her a warning look. It was sweet of him to be worried , but she had this. They weren’t going to mess with her head. What she had told him earlier was true, she wasn’t mad anymore, just sad. They weren’t going to make her feel any worse about what had happened. The decision was already made. She couldn’t go back and change it now.
    “So you wouldn’t try to save your sister and her people even though they were wrongly banished?” Tran asked.
    “No. As I said, it isn’t my job to clean up your mistakes.”
    She could hear the edge in her voice and willed herself to calm down.
    “Do you feel no responsibly to help your own kind?” Tran asked.
    “I do not,” Rory said carefully. “My people are my coven. I don’t know Sophia enough to risk my life to rescue her.”
    “What if Sophia made it over herself?” Delilah asked. “Would you join an effort to banish the Lost Tribe again?”
    More hypotheticals. Rory could see where they were going. “If you think that I’m going to try freeing the Northlands Fae now that I know I’m one of them, then you rest easy. I would never do anything to endanger those I care about.”
    Tran nodded. “I think we’re done here.”
    Delilah looked at the other Council members. “I think we have all we need about this incident. As long as there are no more attempts to open a portal to their dimension, I see no reason for the Council to have anymore dealings in the New World.”
    “Thank you,” Cross said , standing up. He shook the Council members' hands. Rory followed his lead and they left the hall together.
    Cross went to talk to his father when they got outside while Rory went to the coven. Magda put her arm around Rory’s shoulder.
    “How did it go?” Jamie asked first.
    “Ok. They don’t want to talk to me anymore and don’t think I’m a traitor. I would say that’s good.”
    “That’s great,” Magda said , squeezing Rory.
    Cross came over to her. “You up for a little side trip?”
    Rory shrugged. “I guess. Where to?”
    “The Moon Brothers got the name of the hotel Prescott is staying