I did everything I could to get Zuran under control, but he wouldn’t be controlled. He jumped up onto the platform and began bellowing, and I was dragged up with him. I grabbed his arm with my free hand and started yanking, not even caring how stupid I looked in front of the Elders. I just wanted him to get down. He was going to get himself into some serious trouble, and he was just going to make it worse for Venan.

“Look!” he shouted, swinging his un-held hand toward me. His finger was pointed, and his face was contorted in rage. “Even she can tell you Venan behaved accordingly! Even she can tell you he did not murder Kharid!”

The Elders around the circle were in a rage of their own. While some sat calmly and serenely like Vi’den, as if they were doing nothing more than spending a pleasant afternoon in the park, others were screaming back at Zuran. They were speaking A’li-uud, so I couldn’t understand anything they were saying, but it was obvious by the way they jumped out of their chairs, pointed their fingers at him, and even advanced toward the podium they were just as angry as he was.

“Excuse me,” Vi’den said loudly. He was hardly audible over the furious noise, but there was something about his presence that drew attention. Everyone quieted, everyone except Zuran.

“Ask her,” he demanded, still pointing at me. “If you do not believe me, if you think me untrustworthy because you believe I am a criminal or because I am Venan’s brother, so be it. But ask her. She has no reason to lie to you.”

Eyes turned to me as Zuran finally stopped yelling and receded into loud, huffing breaths. I immediately blushed under the attention. It was like being on a stage in front of every boss, teacher, and celebrity in the world. There was way too much pressure, and I just wanted to go sit back down.

“Well?” This came from the Elder beside Vi’den. He looked even older than Vi’den, and his cheeks were kind of puffy, which was strange for an A’li-uud. His voice sounded odd, too, rolling and bubbly. “Can you tell us?”

“Y-Yes,” I faltered. “I was there.”

I expected Vi’den to start asking me questions the same way he’d asked Venan questions, but he didn’t. He just looked at me, offered me his kindly smile, and bowed his head slightly to indicate I should start explaining. I didn’t like that. I would’ve preferred to have been asked direct questions that I could’ve given simple yes or no answers to, but the floor was mine, and I needed to talk.

“Zuran came to the infirmary and told all of us in there we needed to go to the palace. We weren’t told why at that time. When we got to the palace, Venan was there standing guard, and Zuran was still with us. Another A’li-uud came in and said something I didn’t understand. Zuran told me and the other nurses we needed to stay there unless someone gave us direct orders to go somewhere else, but, if we saw a Novai, we were supposed to run away.” I swallowed hard. It was difficult to recall that day, not because it had faded away in my memory but because it was one of the most traumatic days I’d ever experienced.

The room had gone completely silent now. Even Zuran’s breaths were inaudible. He wasn’t looking at me, instead preferring to stare at Vi’den, but his fingers kept squeezing mine as if to let me know he was listening to my tale carefully. I went on.

“We stood in the entrance, the nurses and me, and we were pretty scared. Then, Elder Kharid came in and asked us to follow him to the conservatory, probably to get us out of the way while everything was brought back under control. That’s when the Novai came into the room. He jumped on Kharid—Elder Kharid—and they started fighting. The Novai was stronger than him. After that, Venan, Zuran, and the other guard came in, and Venan stabbed the Novai because he was about to get Elder Kharid to the floor.”

I went silent. There was more, so much more, but I felt awkward, and I didn’t want to say too much or too little. I figured, if they wanted to know more, they’d ask, and if there was something Zuran thought I was missing he would say so.

There wasn’t any movement around the circle of Elders except for Vi’den, who nodded. “Thank you,” he said. I started to step off the platform, but he held up a hand and added, “Please. I must ask you to remain where you are. We still have questions for you.”

“Oh,” I said stupidly. “Of course.”

“You say you are a nurse?” This particular question was darted to me from the same puffy-faced Elder sitting beside Vi’den before my words even finished leaving my lips.

“Yes,” I said. It felt better to be able to give one-word answers.

“Are you one who has been assigned to the Novain illness?”

“Yes,” I answered. “I am on the same team as Zuran.”

“Have you discovered anything about the disease that would be relevant to this case?” Now, Vi’den was speaking again. He already knew the answer, but, just like with Venan, he asked it to establish a baseline.

I nodded. “I have,” I confirmed. “In our research, we have learned of and witnessed the changes in the brain once the Novai have contracted the disease. It is our belief these changes are the catalyst for the sudden and unstoppable aggression exhibited in every single one of our patients. They also develop enhanced muscular capabilities. All of them have been able to tear themselves free from the restraints on the beds several times, at least during the first stage of the disease’s progression.”

“Do you feel a Novai who has contracted said disease is a greater threat than a Novai who has not?” The Elder that asked this question was behind me, and I turned. I’d noticed him before when he’d come to the hospital with the Council. He was younger than the rest, with laughing eyes and a smirking mouth much like Zuran’s.

“Yes,” I answered him confidently. “Definitely.”

There were a few murmurings around the circle, but they were in A’li-uud. I didn’t bother asking them to translate, assuming they were just exclamations of surprise.

Zuran squeezed my hand yet again, and he finally looked at me. I saw hope glimmering in his eyes.