A thoughtful moment. “Rough night?”
I snorted. If he only knew. “The entire day was rough.”
The gentle knock came too soon on the door.
I groaned as I stood up, stretching. I fixed my dress and patted my cheeks to wake myself up. Eternal Slumbers were never pleasant. And they were fuckinglong. Especially, if the individual was old. And Cleo was.
Lord Cato opened the door to stop the knocking.
We filed out behind him.
Our bodyguards shadowed our steps.
Lord Otto’s blond head turned in my direction, and he flicked a finger at me. He reminded, “Up front, your majesty.”
I quickened my steps and moved to the front of the line. We stopped at the doors to the memorial hollow. Friends and family would already be inside, including the woman wanting to die.
None of us spoke, standing patiently.
The voices inside the room finally began to quiet.
Almost time.
Cleo was saying the last of her good-byes.
She eventually opened the door for us, allowing her executioner in. It was tradition. Their last chance to change their mind. If the door didn’t open, then the Eternal Slumber was called off. But the door was open.
It was death time.
I walked into the silent room, the Overlords and bodyguards following behind. This entrance opened up directly onto the platform, only one light lit from above spotlighting a single chair on the raised area. More chairs surrounded it, facing out into the intimate crowd. I led our group to those seats.
The only royal who didn’t sit was Lord Cato.
He stood in the middle of the stage next to Cleo.
My father turned to her. “Cleopatra Conto, do you agree you’ve requested your Eternal Slumber?”
“I do, my lord,” she answered.
My eyes narrowed at her in surprise.
Her tone had bite. Not what I’d expected.
Lord Cato questioned, “Cleopatra Conto, do you still wish for your Eternal Slumber?”
“I do, my lord,” Cleo hissed.
She definitely didn’t like my father.
He stared patiently at her. “Cleopatra Conto, do you have any last words?”
Her mouth thinned, pausing a moment. “I do not, my lord.”
My father gestured toward the chair. “Please have a seat.”
This was the strangest Eternal Slumber I’d been to.
Why in the world would she want my father to officiate her death when she didn’t even like him? It made no sense whatsoever. But, occasionally, the old were…odd.
