Stolen Hearts: Book 1 (Grim's Labyrinth Series) by Ariana Gael, Grim's Labyrinth Publishing Page B

in front of these witnesses. It would signify an alliance between them, something that had already cost her dearly when she was married to Rageeb. Their alliance and its consequences were a large part of her willingness to leave when the assignment was offered to her.
    Rageeb smiled darkly at the man who’d spoken up for Faydra, and she could tell by the look on her ex-husband’s face that he was already calculating not only his response, but also that man’s future downfall. No one contradicted Rageeb, especially in front of an assembly and with so much at stake.
    “I appreciate your statement, Jodor, because it gets that fallacy out of the way so we can concentrate on the truth in front of us. We’re all in danger because of this woman and her criminally intentional actions. I ask you to move on, and to weigh the information in front of you before it’s too late.”
    This is it, Faydra thought. This is the point where they will either declare my guilt now, or at least let me try to reason with them.
    Her unspoken wish was granted. Before Rageeb could get the other council members to agree to pass judgment and move along to carrying out whatever sentence they agreed upon, they insisted on hearing her side of the events.
    There might be hope for today after all.

Chapter 11
    Jessica’s cell, if it could be called that, was a far cry from the ones she’d seen in movies. There were no cinder block walls, no stainless steel toilet decorating the room. There were obviously no bars on her doors or a lack of windows.
    Instead, it looked like a few of the mid-range hotels she’d stayed in during family vacations when her dad had still been alive. They’d traveled for his job as a photographer, both for covering important events and sports venues, and sometimes just for his work in freelance nature photography. It had been a happy time, even if it kept them moving.
    As she’d gotten older and had school and extracurricular stuff, he’d had to take more and more of the trips by himself, leaving her with her stepmother for weeks at a time. But summers and holidays had been spent traveling, often just the two of them since Faydra claimed to be allergic to anything fun. Well, maybe not in those exact words, but that was Jessica’s analysis of it.
    The room where she’d woken up had two double beds with soft duvet coverlets, a separate bathroom area, a TV and phone, and even a small fridge and microwave. Except for the obvious problem of a door that locked from the outside and a very noticeable lack of a clock—which was never a good sign since it meant she could be there a while and someone didn’t want her to know it—it would feel just like a vacation.
    Well, that, and the fact that her stepmother had spoken to someone about hiding her body, she didn’t know where she was or how she’d gotten there, a group of people wanted her to sacrifice herself, and she’d managed to drag a strange guy from her school into her problems.
    Otherwise, it was a Hilton.
    Jessica couldn’t gauge how long she’d been in the room, only long enough to really feel something like hunger once, meaning maybe for the space between two meals, when the lock began to turn from the outside. She sat upright on the bed and smoothed her rumpled clothes in place, readying herself mentally in case she needed to defend herself.
    The door opened only wide enough for her to see Conlan outlined by the door frame. She brightened for a moment, thrilled that he’d managed to escape and was coming to bust her out, but her shoulders slumped slightly when someone pushed him gently from behind and closed the door behind him. The lock turned in place and footsteps retreated down the exterior hallway.
    “Hi roomie!” he called out too happily, jumping and landing on the other bed in an outstretched position, letting his hands cradle his head on the pillow. He kicked off his shoes and crossed his ankles, obviously settling in. “Anything good on TV