"Thane. Next witness."
"The Crown calls Captain Varin Dross."
Captain Varin Dross — broad, iron-haired, uniform crisp — stepped forward and stood at attention.
"State your name and position."
"Captain Varin Dross. Senior Warden of Shadowclaw Prisons."
"During the first poisoning, Orion Emberhide served under you?"
"Yes. He was Chief Warden of the lower blocks."
"Describe his conduct during that time."
Varin's jaw hardened.
"At first he was normal. Visited his daughter daily. But after the poisoning, his orders changed. He kept certain inmates — and students — on extended labor. When I demanded paperwork, he said the directive came from Princess Meredith Ashbane."
A ripple moved through the hall.
"Did he specify those orders?"
"He told me the princess requested a student be disciplined. Nova Moonveil. No written directive. Said it came through 'personal channels.'"
"Before the assault?"
"Hours before. Nova was sent to Maximus South for overnight labor — no mop, full floors, our most dangerous prison. I didn't authorize that. If I'd known, I'd have gone straight to the Alpha."
"How did you learn about the assault?"
"Colonel Sterling mindlinked me. When I arrived, the block was chaos. Prisoners riled, alarms going. The Alpha had already removed the girl. Orion was gone — Gamma Thorne caught him outside trying to leave the scene."
Gasps scattered, quickly silenced.
"What did you find afterward?"
"Falsified logs. Her name wiped from the roster. No students listed at all. The archive copy showed it had been overwritten — in Orion's handwriting. The primary log was burned."
"Did you find anything linking him to outside influence?"
"Yes. In his desk — a letter sealed in crimson wax. Ashbane crest. The message inside was burned to ash. Only the seal remained."
The room erupted before Jax's glare shut it down.
"Entered. No further questions."
Jax didn't look up. His voice cut clean: Vaelor. Cross."
Eldric stepped forward like he owned the floor.
"Senior Warden Dross, let's nail down your timeline. The assault happened after the first poisoning… before the second?"
"Correct."
"And the second poisoning took place after Orion was already in a cell?"
"Yes."
Eldric smiled — razor thin.
"So Orion Emberhide was locked up when poison number two hit. Should I assume he orchestrated it through telepathy, or—"
Jax's eyes flicked up — a silent warning — but Eldric stayed just within bounds.
Varin didn't flinch. "No. I'm saying he followed orders from someone who wasn't behind bars. Someone already pulling strings long before he laid a hand on the Queen."
A low murmur rolled through the court.
"But you can't prove those orders came from the princess, can you?"
"I can prove the seal did."
Another wave of whispers — quickly stifled.
Eldric changed angles instantly, like a preditor cutting off a witness's escape route.
"Did you hear anything in the prisons about Nova Moonveil before the assault with Orion?"
"Yes."
Whispers stirred again.
"What did you hear? And more importantly — when did it start?"
Varin's answer came firm, military-clean.
"It started months before Gamma Thorne claimed her. Guards, cadets — talking about a girl they'd never met. Everything they said came from one source: the princess. She was endorsed as our future Luna. Warriors repeated her words. My penal division trains with them. It spread fast."
Eldric didn't blink.
"And what does the princess have to do with that?"
Varin's jaw shifted — a man admitting an ugly truth.
"When the princess speaks, packs listen. That's how rumors became fact. By the time I heard prisoners chanting her name, the damage was done. And when Helga arrived — after visiting with the princess — it escalated."
He let that hang in the air.
Eldric paused — one beat, two — letting the silence tighten like a noose.
Then:
"No further questions."
He stepped back with the calm of a man who knew he'd just landed a clean hit.
Jax's gaze swept the chamber, cold and commanding. When he spoke, the room stilled.
"Entered. The witness may be recalled."
The gavel struck once — a single iron note that echoed long after the sound died.