9

"Miss Earl," Jacob spoke to me again, "In your opinion is Wyatt Nix a threat to earth?"

"No," I frowned, "I think he's an ally. He's strong, and incredibly loyal. We just need to give him a chance to prove his worth, and then you'll see his value as well."

"His value?" My dad scoffed, "What value could a beast like that possibly hold?"

"He's a flying tank," I smirked slightly, "Doesn't that make him the perfect counter for wyverns? And his hatred of that elf was real. He wasn't faking it."

"And we're just going to listen to a child that could have been brainwashed by this creature?" My dad walked over to where we sat on the stand, "We've already confirmed that the creature has human level intelligence, so its not that much of a stretch to believe the creature's bond is a form of brain washing."

"I'm not that easily manipulated," I snapped, "The bond doesn't work that way."

"How do you know Savannah?" my dad snapped, "A bond like this has never been observed by human's before. We do not know the possible effects this bond is having on your mind."

"That's incorrect," Snider was looking down into his notes, "The bond is nowhere near the cognitive, decision making part of the human brain."

"When you looked it wasn't there," my dad snapped, "What makes you so sure that it can't branch out that way anytime the beast desires?"

Snider didn't answer that question. He just looked at my dad as if he were stupid.

"He's not controlling our thoughts," I snapped.

My dad started walking up to the witness stand.

"If he had that kind of power I wouldn't be able to tell you about the bond in the first place," I was getting irritated with my father.

He seemed bound, and determined to prove that Wyatt was a bad guy that deserved killing.

"Wyatt is only dangerous when threatened," I kept talking, "And right now he's under us by a few hundred feet so he can't affect any of us even if he wanted to."

My dad stopped in front of the witness stand, and slapped me. Pain blossomed across my cheek.

"What are you doing?" I could feel my eyes watering.

"I'm trying to snap my little bitch of a daughter out of it," he snarled.

"I'm not under Wyatt's control," I snapped.

Another fresh sting of pain crossed my cheek. Rage blossomed through my connection to Wyatt. He was absolutely pissed that I was being hurt.

"I was never under Wyatt's control," I felt my face starting to twist in rage as Wyatt's anger began to affect me, "Wyatt would never control me."

Another slap across the cheek. Mana swirled near us. I didn't think my father noticed it since he was so angry with me.

"At least Wyatt hasn't tried to plan out my entire life," I could feel the first tears sliding down my face, "He's protected me in situations where you would have let me die because I should be strong enough to handle it."

Another slap. Followed by him pulling back his arm for another whack. A spatial portal opened up less than five feet from us. My dad turned towards the spatial portal in surprise only to be punched in the face by Wyatt as he leapt through the small portal. The spatial portal collapsed right after Wyatt passed through it safely.

Wyatt backed into the witness stand so he was between me, and my dad.

"You alright?" He asked without taking his eyes off my dad.

"I'm fine," I answered.

Ethan perked up now that Wyatt was here. I didn't know what was going on or how Wyatt had managed to pull this off, but I was happy to see him. His sudden appearance here had terrified half the people in the room. My dad stood up, and rubbed his tender cheek before drawing his blade. Wyatt's hands turned scaly, and it spread up to his elbows.

My father dashed in to try, and stab Wyatt, but Wyatt intercepted the blade with his scales. Punching my dad in the face with his free hand, and taking a few steps back so he could return to his position between us, and my dad. Wyatt was stronger, and faster than my dad so he stood a good chance of actually beating him. The only problem I saw right now was if my dad threw caution to the wind, and started using magic. Wyatt's streamlined angry focus gave me the chills while at the same time exciting me.

This was Wyatt at his prime. It was a sight I rarely got to see with all the hiding he'd been doing before. It reminded me of when he took on the basilisk for me. Fearless, unstoppable rage, ran through him like a torrent as he continued to intercept my father's blows with his scales. Wyatt was a force of nature. He wasn't something an ordinary human could take on, and win.

He didn't need to talk because the message he sent out was clear. Touch one of mine, and I will hurt you. His murderous intent sent shivers through the people in the room. His speed, and skill at blocking, and countering my father's blade strikes left an impression on everyone watching. The sting of my father's slap on my cheek was forgotten as I observed the fight from a safe distance with Ethan.

Ethan clearly wanted to help, but there was no openings for us to act. Snider stood up, and started recording everything he saw with a creepy giddy type of excitement. This would reflect badly on Wyatt later. Attacking one of the four greats wouldn't make any of the stuffy politicians watching happy. Yet I was still glad that he'd done it.

Flames erupted from my father's blade as he used them to increase the speed that he swung his blade at. Slicing through Wyatt's shoulder all the way down to his navel.

"Be careful," I stood so fast it knocked my chair over, "He's just testing you right now. His attacks will only get more powerful."