"No!"

"Your Powerfulness, you can't!"

Luke and Helaena's cries were drowned by the rest of the crowd's voices. Katie stood frozen in place, unable to believe her ears.

"Order! Order!" Councillor Lawson called. "The defendant will be returned to her cell."

The uproar continued, louder and louder. Some praising, some condemning, none of them making much sense.

"Wait! Please!" Katie's mother pleaded.

"At least allow us to appeal!" Kendall asked.

Gideon was saying something too, but his choice of words was a lot less appropriate. He had an arm around Hazel, who was sobbing, to shield her from the chaotic crowd.

"She's only seventeen, for Heaven's sake! How can you Dispell a seventeen-year-old?" Isadora shouted.

"Silence, or you shall be held in contempt!" Mrs Nurengard retorted sharply.

The Guards immediately took Katie's arms and began to lead her away. Luke suddenly hurtled forwards, cupped Katie's face in his hands and kissed her. She kissed him back, longing to pull him close. Seconds later he was pulled away by another Guard.

"Come on, you're coming with us," the soldier holding Katie said briskly.

She tried to get one last look at Luke as they pulled her away, but he was nowhere to be seen. The doors closed sharply behind them. They made their way down the hallways. Katie expected them to lead her back to the cell she'd been in, but instead, he lead her further away. The halls, once white and glistening, turned cold, dark and bare.

"... What's going on, where are we going?" she asked. "What is this place?"

They went down a set of stone steps. But they were steeper than the others Katie had encountered in the Council, so she stumbled and almost fell down about fifty feet, but the guard grabbed her arm and steadied her.

"Down there is the Hall of the Condemned." He said.

Charming name, Katie commented mentally.

"What... What's that?"

"It's where prisoners are kept until their sentence is carried out. In cases of Dispelling, anyway."

That sounded uncomfortably like the Death Row in Unspelled prisons. They reached the foot of the stairs and came to a round room with half a dozen wooden doors with tiny windows on them. It was far more rudimentary than what Katie had seen so far. The guard, one hand grasping her arm, he looked through the set of keys on his belt, pulled out the biggest, oldest one, and unlocked the third door on their right.

"... How long before they perform the Dispelling?" she asked, trying not to let her voice shake.

The guard shrugged.

"Don't know, it depends," he said, pulling the key out and putting it back on his belt. "Could be a few hours, could be a few days, or weeks."

He opened the door and looked at her.

Great, Katie thought unhappily as she stepped in and heard the lock click behind her. So I don't even know when and if I'll die...

Time went by at an agonisingly slow pace, when you were in a prison cell. Or maybe Katie should have been happy to have the illusion of just a few more minutes to live. She wasn't sure what one was supposed to feel in this kind of situation. Especially when all she had left was a space that was only a few of square feet wide, and depressingly austere. Katie glanced around her. The area was only dimly lit thanks to the torches between the cells, their light piercing through the glass window that served as a door. There was only a small window on the wall opposite the door. She lay on her bed, tossing and turning, trying to sleep in the hopes of numbing the horror and despair threatening to crush her entirely. It was like being in a waking nightmare. It all felt so surreal. She'd understood that they would have to take drastic measures if she used her magic where Unspelled could see her, but she had expected them to at least take into account the fact that she had been defending herself... but they didn't even believe her, so how was she supposed to fight that? She gulped and blinked back the tears stinging her eyes.

Luke? Can you hear me?

Just hearing his voice would help give her strength, but there was no reply.

Luke? If you can hear me, please say something...

Still nothing. Katie sighed. He was probably too far away, or the walls of the Council blocked out magic, which meant that even if he did hear her, she wouldn't hear him. She sighed turned over once more. In addition to the discomfort and her fear of what was to come, the silence made it impossible to relax. Unable to sleep, she eventually tried singing to herself. But she could only think of songs her mother would sing to her and Gideon when they were little, which made her feel even more like crying, so she quickly stopped.

I guess it makes sense that they'd condemn me even in the case of self-defence... she told herself. If they gave an official warning and then didn't go through with it, they would lose credibility in front of every witch and warlock in the world.

But something felt strange, now that she thought about it. To have a warning for the first incident was one thing, but in retrospect, it seemed almost an exaggerated response. A gust of wind in the middle of a busy street didn't seem like that much of a threat to the secrecy. Not compared to her fight in the alley with the Red Cloak and Luke... That would have warranted an official warning. The gust of wind, in her mind, probably shouldn't have bothered the Council that much... It would have been perhaps a little odd, but Unspelled wouldn't have guessed what had happened. So the Council would have just given a quick "don't do it again" speech and left it at that. Unless you thought you did it intentionally to show someone your magic... she realised bitterly. But there were probably plenty of other rule breakers, and they weren't being thrown into jail... could Luke's father have set her up to separate her from his son? As soon as that thought crossed her mind, she squashed it out. She was sure Luke would never forgive her for even thinking that way. She lay on her back, arms crossed under her head, staring at the bare ceiling, picturing Luke's face, her family's, or Lucy's. It brought her some semblance of comfort to know they believed her, but thinking about them also increased her heartbreak. She was fairly sure visitors weren't allowed in this part of the Council. And she didn't even know how long she would stay there... Surely it wouldn't be too long... would it?