Leander slowly opened his eyes… until his mind caught up and he jolted upright in shock.
"What? Where's my mom and my brother?!"
He realized he was somewhere else—not the courtroom anymore—and then noticed how the people closest to him looked away.
"It's over, Leander," Darian was the one to speak up first.
Leander swallowed hard, his face twisting. He immediately understood—they'd knocked him out so he wouldn't see it.
"Just hold on a second, okay?"
Darian continued, then pulled out a cheap little artifact. When he activated it, a faint blue barrier spread across the room, sealing it off from the rest of the house. That way, the twins wouldn't see or hear anything.
With a deep sigh, Darian began to explain what he'd asked the Judge to do.
Leander clenched his fists, trembling. He heard it all, but it wasn't really sinking in. The pain was just… beyond words. Nothing could dull it.
"You… you kept… their souls?" That was all he could say, his voice shaky.
