Elaine’s voice rang out again. The taint of her betrayal rolled over me, leaving a chill that settled in my bones. My brother’s satisfaction glimmered like a silver coin, and I wanted nothing more than to snatch it away from him.
But nothing could prepare me for the moment when the courtroom doors opened, the sound echoing off the walls like a gunshot. My heart skipped a beat, and I turned, half-hoping, half-dreading who would walk through. The sight of a tall man with familiar features and a confident stride erased the smile from my mother’s face. It was Commander Duane Carney, the very man who had saved my life in that dusty hellhole in Kandar Province.
