Disciplined

When I woke up in the morning, Erik was gone. I could smell coffee from the kitchen.

He had sent me a text, saying he had to go, but that he made me breakfast before leaving. I was angry.

He had no right to put me to sleep like that, leaving me with unanswered questions. I also had a text from Louisa telling me my disciplinary hearing before the council was in the afternoon.

I tried to ignore the uncomfortable feeling crawling over my skin like ants. I had never stood before the council before.

I wasn’t going to be able to hide all the magical traces on me. My anger at Erik faded while I poured myself coffee and saw the waffles he had made me.

They were delicious enough to soothe my nerves. I put on a matching black twill skirt and jacket with gold buttons, over a white silk blouse and thin black stockings.

I sighed as I sat down to do my makeup. My hair was still red.

I felt like I was truly doing the walk of shame when my high-heeled boots echoed in the hallway of the headquarters, as they had so many times before. But this time, everyone I passed was looking at me with judging eyes.

I wished I’d gone for flat shoes. My hair and energy drew enough attention as it was.

I sat down on a bench outside of the council’s court. I had been here once before, but never before the council.

They never bothered with the students, as long as we followed the rules. I clenched my fists on my lap, trying to keep myself collected.

I didn’t have to wait for very long before Louisa opened the door and waved at me to come inside. I took a deep breath before I got up and followed her lead.

The council’s courtroom was pretty dark. It had many windows, but they were all covered by tinted glass.

The colorful images made the light dim but colorful. There were no chairs for an audience nor for me, and I was forced to stand before the council.

An intentional power move to make whomever stood before them feel small. It worked, but I tried not to show it.

There were seven people on the council. And they were all looking down on me from a height.

They were positioned in a pyramid. The man sitting at the top was obviously our leader, the great Dux Umbra.

His energy was like nothing I’d ever felt from any other umbra. It was dark, strong, and true.

I felt his authority. I had never even seen him before.

He looked much younger than the rest, who were all old with white hair. He was quite far away, but from what I could see, he looked handsome, with blond wavy hair and a strong build.

Not at all what I expected.

“Bella Isadora Rosqvist, you have been called before us, to answer for disobedience, risk-taking, and unauthorized use of magic. Louisa has explained to us why, but we would like to hear your own defense as well?” an old lady to the Dux Umbra’s right said.

I couldn’t remember ever feeling this petty before.

“I got a very sudden chance to get to know our enemy. Magic was necessary to blend in. I know I should have let someone know in advance. It was very foolish of me,” I admitted, meeting the lady’s gaze.

“Unauthorized magic is a very serious crime, Bella. It can lead to corruption if you don’t get cleansed,” another council member said.

I thought of the stories I’d heard, of umbra who’d gone mad, hunting for blood like a true demon. I shuddered at the thought, remembering Tom as he was torn apart.

“Perhaps the girl is not strong enough to be in her squad. She should get transferred,” a third one said.

“Not to mention the disrespect she showed our Dux Umbra yesterday,” the second council member chimed in, obviously not finished.

“Or the leadership is faulty. Someone who’s not an umbra should not be trusted to lead a squad,” a fourth member said.

Louisa interrupted them. “Now hold it! Leave me out of this, I’ve done my job better than any of you old crows could,” she protested.

“So rude,” the fourth member said.

“Enough, Adam!” the Dux Umbra said with a stern and powerful voice.

He continued, much milder. “Louisa, could you come up here for a moment?”

The other council members protested while Louisa ascended the stairs. I was stunned and caught myself gawking.

The Dux Umbra raised his hand to silence them.

“I will not talk down to my wife. You all know this!” he clarified.

My jaw dropped even further. Louisa was married to our Dux Umbra? It explained how she could and wanted to be a squad leader, when she wasn’t really one of us.

But how? We weren’t allowed interspecies relationships, in case of hybrids.

Was he abusing his position?

“She’s in your squad, dear, how do you think we should punish her?” he asked Louisa.

“I don’t think we should punish her, I think she did well, except for the part where she forgot to let me know in advance,” Louisa said.

“So you don’t think that she just got lucky, doing something very rash, while disrespecting my summons?” he asked her calmly and kissed her hand.

Watching him show public affection like that made me feel odd, but I couldn’t quite place the feeling. I could see that Louisa was conflicted.

“Well, when you put it like that,” she sighed.

“Considering the stakes, I think suspension under guard should satisfy everyone? Until Marcus has been dealt with,” he addressed his council.

I had expected suspension as a possibility, but under guard? I couldn’t help but frown. What did he mean by that?

“Ten years ago she would have been whipped and thrown in the dungeon,” the council member I’d heard get called Adam protested.

I looked at him in horror. Really?

“Ten years ago we’d probably be on a witch hunt, firing our shots in the dark and starting a war with the spellcasters. Is that what you want, Adam? While we’re at it, we might as well start a war with the vampires—they are way worse than the vast majority of the mages,” our Dux Umbra scolded Adam.

“I didn’t think so,” he said after Adam muttered silently to himself.

“Yes, she was rash and disrespectful and I understand that you all worry about her loyalty, but thanks to her, we know when Marcus will strike,” he argued to his council.

“I agree, guarded suspension will suffice,” the woman beside the Dux Umbra said.

Something about her looked familiar. Most of the other council members murmured in agreement.

I didn’t dare to ask what they meant by guarded suspension. At this point, I was just happy I wasn’t going to get whipped and thrown in a dungeon.

“Guarded suspension it is then,” the Dux Umbra declared.

“I still want to have a chat alone with her, though…” the Dux Umbra said to Louisa.

“Should I take her to your office after she’s been cleansed?” she asked, still holding his hand.

“That would be great, dear,” he said, smiling warmly at her.

“I will get her ready,” Louisa said before she let her hand slip from his grasp and descended the stairs. She grabbed my arm and pulled me along.

I glanced back at the council, confused, before I was gently shoved into a side room and told to get undressed, while Louisa pulled out a long, white dress from a cabinet.

“You must take everything off, even your earrings and underwear, then put this on,” Louisa said again and handed me the dress.

“How is this cleansing done?” I asked while I did as she said.

“You drink wine and ask forgiveness for your sins, before taking a dip in holy water. The eleventh and twelfth squad have to do it every week,” Louisa answered.

“It sounds like it will ruin my makeup,” I sighed.

Louisa snorted at me and chuckled.

We didn’t go back to the council room. Instead, we went inside a small room of white marble.

In the middle of the room was a small pool. And on the ceiling above, there was a cross.

One of the old women of the council was present in the room.

Louisa poured me a glass of wine and urged me to drink it.

“Please step into the pool,” the older lady told me.

I did as she asked and stepped down into the water. It felt wrong; I felt nauseous standing in it.

“Say your prayers, and ask forgiveness,” she said when I was in.

I had never prayed in my life.

“I ask forgiveness for the sins I’ve committed,” I said, not being able to speak anymore as the nausea hit me strongly.

I wanted out.

The lady grabbed the back of my head and dunked me under the water, without mercy.

My body was burning, but only for a moment. Soon, the nausea left me as dizziness took over.

The lady let go of my hair.

I threw my head above the surface, gasping for air.

The wet dress clung heavily to my body while I stepped out of the pool.

I felt very weak. Had I ever felt this weak before?

“That connection you have is very dangerous, you should never use magic again, unless you really have to,” the old lady told me.

I stared blankly at her.

“What does it mean?” I asked her in a dead tone. Erik had called it strange but hadn’t specified what it meant.

“Let’s pray we never find out. I doubt suspension would suffice,” she replied. She patted my back before she left.

Louisa appeared in the doorway. “Come, you need to get dressed. Victor still wants to talk to you,” she said with a cold voice, although there was a trace of sympathy in her eyes.