Todos los capítulos de Rejected by the Wolf King: The Moon Oath Judge: Capítulo 21 - Capítulo 30

The first bell rang before Eve finished speaking.Grayharbor's receiving boats were supposed to depart at sunrise, but the Court had begun loading them in darkness. From the bakery window I could see lanterns moving toward the eastern quay in two straight lines. Guards. Patients. A procession made to look orderly by the distance between people who were afraid."How many?" I asked."Twenty-three from the medical house," Eve said. "More from the shelters. Lane's name is fourth."Lane stood behind her, wrapped in a borrowed coat. Her wrist mark had darkened from silver to a bruised violet. Sera had warned us that the medical suspension was temporary; I hadn't imagined the Court would revoke it while patients were still in their beds.I flattened the notice on a flour-dusted table. Its first page revoked all local medical holds. The second authorized transfer of registered dependents under an emergency transport clause. In the margin, a clerk had squeezed six additional words: including t

The second boat was called the Morning Fog, though its paint was so dark that the name could only be read from a few feet away. Its decks were quieter than those of the medical transfer vessel. No families stood on the gangway. Guards kept a clean corridor between the passengers and the shore.Theo went pale when he saw it."That's where they kept Mina," he said. "Before they moved her to the receiving warehouse."Mina was now safe with her aunt. Theo had checked twice, and I'd asked Eve to send a third person to confirm without attracting attention. None of that made the sight of the vessel easier for him."You don't have to board it," I said."I know." He swallowed. "But I saw the storage schedule. There are other children."Kael scanned the guards. "Two at the forward hatch, three above the hold. A direct entry would turn the dock into a fight.""Then we won't make a direct entry."My statement sounded confident. It wasn't. The inspection hold on Captain Arlen's vessel rested on a

The woman from the hold was called Merrin Rell. She was forty, a rope maker, and she had spent three days insisting that her husband had died without leaving anyone else a claim on her labor. The Court had answered by fitting a relay chain to her wrist and listing her as an unassigned dependent."They said nobody owns me," she told Sera after the chain was loosened. "Then they said the Court had to find someone who did."No one in the pilot station knew what to say.The children were wrapped in blankets and taken to the harbor clinic. The captain of the Morning Fog had been detained by local guards, but Severin's men still controlled the main receiving quay. We had exposed one hidden hold. The medical transfer lists remained active, and the inspectors could decide to move everyone by road instead.A Court lieutenant arrived with a revised order. "Those without verified identities remain in protective custody," he announced. "Anyone listed under an unassigned dependent code must be han

Severin arrived before the hearing clerk opened the courthouse.He brought a warrant bearing the seal of the central Inspectorate and a squad of guards whose polished boots looked out of place on Grayharbor's muddy steps. People waiting with their petitions drew closer together. I saw how quickly a crowd could become a frightened collection of individuals when one official unfolded a piece of expensive paper."Elena Vale," he said. "You are under arrest for theft of restricted documents, interference with sacred transport, and unlawful alteration of a bond relay.""Which court issued the warrant?" I asked."The Moon Court.""Which officer signed it?"He showed me a name, half hidden beneath the ribbon. "Enough delays.""Not while an emergency review is pending," said a voice from behind me.Captain Arlen stood on the courthouse steps. The harbor master joined her, carrying his inspection log. Sera came with the medical file. Their presence did not make me safe, but it meant Severin wo

The number on Severin's transport warrant was one hundred and twenty. By morning, it had become a number people shouted at us in the street.Some thought all one hundred and twenty had already been rescued. Others believed every name belonged to a child. The truth was less comforting: we had counted people across scattered lists, and we still could not match every code to a living person."Don't publish a number we can't defend," I told the volunteers."Then how do we make them listen?" Finn asked."By recording what we know and what we don't."We divided the room into four tables. One took firsthand accounts, another checked public registers, a third handled medical concerns, and the fourth provided copies to people who wanted their own records. Each volunteer signed a promise not to take names outside the room without permission. I worried the rules would slow us down. They did. They also stopped two well-meaning men from copying all the addresses onto a poster where Severin's peopl