Cast Out by My Mate

The guards came at sunrise. I'd held my mother's hairpin all night, the three silver flowers pressing crescents into my palm. At the door, a guard held out his hand.

"Personal belongings remain secured until the hearing."

Reluctantly, I gave it to him.

Vanessa warned me about today's vote. I still hoped she lied.

The council chamber was full. Damon sat at the head of the table, Vanessa beside him. A guard seated me opposite them.

Once, Damon had squeezed my hand beneath this table and told the elders I belonged beside him. Now he barely looked at me.

My hair was tangled, my wedding dress stained with wine. I smoothed it over my knees and tried to ignore the ache beneath my ribs.

Tonight, Vanessa might sleep in our bed, beneath blankets I'd chosen.

Elder Marcus rose. "This hearing concerns Seraphina Vale's continued residence in Silvercrest pending the investigation into the missing treasury funds."

"Have you confirmed that the funds are missing?" I asked.

An elder frowned. "Northvale certified the discrepancy."

"Then let me see the proof. Someone has put my name on transactions I never authorized. Ask the people who actually handled the money!"

Marcus looked at Damon. "I agree the original records require examination."

I gripped my chair, surprised by his support.

"We can investigate after securing the pack," Damon replied.

"Securing it from what? I've spent two nights locked underground. Every key to my office has been taken."

Vanessa placed a hand over her stomach.

"The servants still adore Sera," she said gently. "If she stays, someone might help her hide evidence. I'm worried for everyone, especially the baby."

"You came to my cell yesterday," I said. "You asked me to sign away my right to stay. You promised to return my mother's belongings if I agreed."

"I wanted to spare her further embarrassment," Vanessa told the council.

"You used my mother's hairpin to bargain with me."

Damon straightened. "Vanessa, what document?"

"Darling, I explained everything. I wanted peace for our family."

"The guard saw her bring the papers."

Marcus summoned the guard, who confirmed Vanessa had brought documents. Under questioning, she admitted asking me to sign a voluntary departure.

"You had no authority to negotiate her rights," Marcus said.

Vanessa reached for Damon's arm. He sighed.

"You should have left this to the council," he told her.

I waited for him to question her. To wonder what else she might have lied about.

He picked up the Northvale report.

"Until the inquiry concludes, Seraphina is banished. Her detention officially ends at the boundary."

My grip tightened. "Expelled?"

"You may request readmission once your name is cleared."

"My mother is buried here."

Damon's expression tightened.

"Her grave is behind the old chapel. You helped me plant roses there. Will I need permission to visit her?"

"Sera, the pack comes first."

"I was part of this pack yesterday."

Nobody answered.

"I can remain under guard," I pleaded. "Keep me away from the offices. Search everything I own. Please don't send me away before anyone has even proved I did something wrong."

Damon folded his hands. "The decision stands."

Marcus requested that his objection be recorded. The councillors avoided my eyes. Vanessa hid a smile.

"I hope you enjoy what you've taken," I told her.

Damon ordered the guards to escort me out.

He followed us into the corridor.

"Humiliating Vanessa before the elders accomplished nothing," he said.

"She threatened me with my mother's belongings!"

"She's trying to adjust to her responsibilities."

"Of course you would think that."

"Cooperate with the investigation, Sera. You'll be able to return."

"Return to what, Damon?"

He looked away. I hated that I wanted him to reach for me, to tell me he had made a mistake. I knew the warmth of his hand against my back, the sound of his breathing when he slept. Five years of loving him had taught my body to expect comfort whenever he came close.

"Please," I whispered as he walked away.

By sunset, the guards were marching me through Silvercrest's main street. The torn hem of my wedding dress dragged through the dirt, and the people who had watched me grow up came out of their shops to stare.

The baker who used to save me warm bread turned his face toward the wall. A woman pulled her son aside as I passed. I recognized the child. I'd carried him home once when he fell and scraped his knees.

He watched me with frightened eyes.

I searched the street behind us. Damon knew which road the guards would take. He could still come. Even now, I listened for his voice.

We passed the old chapel. Through the iron fence I saw my mother's headstone, hidden by roses.

"Please," I told the older guard. "Let me say goodbye to her. Just a minute."

"Keep walking."

"Please! She's my mother."

He urged me forward with a hand between my shoulders. I stumbled, catching my skirt before I fell. The chapel disappeared behind the trees.

At the boundary stone, they gave me bread, water, and a worn cloak. The younger guard returned my hairpin.

"Will someone tend her roses?" I asked. "They need pruning before winter."

The older guard mounted his horse. The younger followed, avoiding my eyes.

"Please. She has nobody else."

Their horses turned toward Silvercrest.

I stood holding the hairpin while the evening bells rang behind me. All my life, those bells had called me home.

I sank beside the boundary stone, my wedding dress spread across the dirt. I waited until the bells fell silent. My tears soaked the silver embroidery.

And now there was no home for me to go back to anymore.

---

Far beyond the road, a man stood beneath the trees, watching the young woman weeping beside the boundary stone. His horse waited quietly behind him.

He had been waiting for her long before the gates of Silvercrest closed.

And Seraphina had no idea what fate had in store for her.