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“I’ll testify,” Bran said quietly. The conversation stopped momentarily at the offer.
Harry turned panicked eyes on the younger dragel, his face stricken. “What? No! Absolutely not!”
“Could you even testify?” Theo asked.
“My ability is rather unique, but it is not singular,” Bran answered. “Others like me have testified before the courts in place of victims or witnesses before.” He winced as Harry snarled. At the sound, Hadrian stepped forward to hold the Submissive—or restrain him, if need be.
“How does your Hindsight work?” Raspen questioned. “Before it’ll be admissible as testimony, the courts will need to know that it is accurate and reliable, especially considering you’re one of Harry’s Bonded.”
“We’re not testifying!” Harry growled. “I’m not testifying and Bran’s not testifying!”
“With direct contact—skin-to-skin contact for a person—I can experience their entire life,” Bran explained quietly. “Their memories, the sensations, the emotions. At first, it’s compressed into however long the initial touch lasts, but I can retain it, sift through it later on and process it so I can better understand it. It takes time—more if they’ve lived longer.”
“And you’ve had enough time to process Harry’s memories? His—experiences?” Raspen asked.
Bran winced, but nodded.
“But you said—” Harry cut off abruptly as the impact of Bran’s admission hit him. “You lied,” he whispered.
“Half-lie,” Bran said, just as quiet. “I’d only processed half of what I got from you when you asked.” He winced again as Harry growled.
“Let me go, Hadrian,” the brunet snapped after a minute.
The ACE hesitated for a moment, but he did as requested, sighing when Harry stormed out of the room. The Pareya all twitched and shifted as the instinct to follow Harry set in, but they reluctantly remained where they were when Wikhn followed after Harry first.
“Are you sure you’d want to go through that?” Charlie asked Bran as the Changeling settled in next to Ethan. “I only know some details, but even that’s enough for me to know that Harry has very good reason to be as reluctant as he is. No one should have to live—or relive—that.”
“I don’t want him to relive it,” Bran replied, a stubborn set to his jaw appearing. “And even though I’m his Bonded, even though I’ve lived all of his experiences as he did, I’ve still got an outside perspective on all of it, because I’ve processed it as me—a fourteen-year-old dragel.”
Many in the room cringed as they all realized the implications and impact of Bran’s ability.
I don’t like this, Quinn remarked, tone flat.
“No one likes it, Q,” Fred muttered, quailing under the Healer’s sharp, teal glare a heartbeat later.
Harry’s reluctance to even think about it, let alone talk about it, shows just how much of an impact they’ve had—and continue to have—on him, Quinn pointed out. His sharp teal eyes turned on Bran. So let’s think about just how much of an impact testifying will have on you.