Cynthia took a deep, ragged breath. “You struck first, Kim. He didn’t do anything to you. He didn’t express his intention to do anything to you. You’re the aggressor, and if an arbiter has to be called, they’d find that out in half a second flat. And in an assault case, the victim determines and carries out the sentence, and the victim is a goddamn leech.”
Kim gaped. She tried to object, failed, shook her head and tried again. It was just so ridiculous. “How can you even call that assault? It didn’t even work!”
“You used magic with the intent to cause harm. It doesn’t matter how much harm, Kim. It doesn’t matter if it worked. The law doesn’t distinguish. You use magic to try to hurt someone, even if it’s just a prank, and that’s half a step away from black magic.”
The pounding at the do
