The Witness Novels & Stories

Then it was my turn. I took the stand slowly, belly making the witness box feel cramped. The courtroom fell silent as I swore on the Bible. The prosecutor wasted no time. “Mrs. Voss — or should I say Miss Harper — did you witness the defendant stab Marcus Hale?” “Yes,” I said clearly. “I saw my husband defend our family from a man who broke into our home with the intent to kill us.” “Objection — leading.” “Sustained.”

He could look at me with eyes and then use someone else to get what he wanted. He didn't want a partner. He wanted people he could control. A sharp chime broke the silence. A red alert box appeared on my screen bypassing my local firewall. SYSTEM ALERT: Re-ROUTING OPTION ACTIVATED. USER: J VANE MESSAGE: REPORT TO OFFICE 01 IMMEDIATELY. BRING THE MONTGOMERY LIQUIDITY MANIFESTS. I stared at the glowing letters. My fingers hovered over the keyboard thinking about ignoring the command.. That would show him that Vivienne had affected me.

"Whenever it suits you. I don't need ceremony. I just need to be standing up and present and able to say afterward that I witnessed it properly." We did it on a Thursday morning. No advance preparation beyond telling Kael and Brae, both of whom appeared at the appointed hour with the quiet composure of people who had been expecting this and were glad it was happening without making a performance of the gladness. The four witnesses the pack law required: my grandmother, Kael, Brae, and Riven's contact from the eastern program who was visiting for work reasons and who received the request to witness with the particular stillness of someone understanding they were being included in something si

"Please." "A witness house holds the formal right and obligation to observe and confirm bloodline claims, as we've already discussed regarding Draven's Hollow's role in the sovereignty rite," Dene said. "But witness standing, specifically, refers to a secondary designation. Distant relations by marriage, formally recorded and acknowledged at the time of the union, who retain a limited right to challenge or question a witness house's conduct if that house acts outside its neutral obligations."

The Witness was staring at Liana as though seeing her for the first time. Liana noticed immediately. "What?" The Witness said nothing. "What are you looking at?" Finally, it whispered: "Your eyes." Liana touched her face. "What about them?" "They're different." Kael looked closely. He frowned. "I don't see anything." The Witness stepped backward. "Neither did I before." Liana's stomach tightened. "What did you see?" The Witness looked toward the Celestial Heart. "The memory." Caelum's expression changed. "What memory?" The Witness sho

She stared directly at Aria. "I remember you." Aria stepped backward. "Who are you?" "I remember your birth." Aria froze. "You were there?" "I remember your first breath." Seraphina moved closer. "What are you?" The woman looked at her. "I remember your first cry." Lucian stared. "She is the Witness." The woman smiled. "Yes." Aria asked: "What do you remember about me?" "Everything." "Then tell me." The Witness stepped closer. "You were born under the Seventh Moon."

A phone vibrated against the console, and the man in the driver's seat answered it without looking at the screen. "It's done," he said. A distorted, mechanical voice replied from the other end. "And the witness?" "There was one," Damien admitted, staring out the tinted windshield. A sharp silence followed before the caller spoke again. "You handled it?" "I did." "You killed her?" Damien paused, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel. "...No." The silence on the line grew noticeably heavier. "You left a witness alive?" "She's blind," Damien said, his voice entirely flat. "She never saw me."

Then the Witness approached. Not as a ruler. Not as a god. As a friend. The ancient observer spoke softly. "I have watched existence grow." Aria smiled. "And?" The Witness looked toward the stars. "I want to be part of it." The memory froze. Silence immediately understood. "No." The Witness looked shocked. "Why?" Silence stepped forward. "Because your purpose is to observe." The Witness's eye darkened. "For eternity?" Silence nodded. The answer hurt. For the first time—

The warmth was already gone. Caius left the door and came closer. “Then we are back to the second option. The living witness.” No one answered at once. The living witness meant the figure. The same person who had stood at the foundation, the burial ground, and the vault. The same person who had put the marker in Valen’s wrist and closed the door on us at Facility 9. Asking them to stand as witness meant giving them a place at the opening of the record. It meant letting them into the claim.

Ethan's face tightened. “I wasn't here.” Marcus kept reading. “Second access. Ethan Vale.” His twin stepped forward. “I wasn't here either.” “Third access.” Marcus stopped. Ava leaned closer. “Who?” Marcus's face changed. “It doesn't list a person.” “Then what does it list?” He turned the screen. WITNESS ZERO. Ava's breath caught. “So Witness Zero could access this place.” “Apparently.” Elena spoke quietly. “Not just access.” Everyone turned.