“That’s far enough.” Felix glared down at me and I returned the favor, physically pushing him aside. He didn’t expect the force I put behind it and stumbled a bit.
My memory pierced back to when he dragged me from Sparrow, but then I remembered what had taken my attention. “Jayce’s dad?”
Griffin was panting when he landed next to my side, a loud growl filling the space between us. I could tell he wanted to yell and scream at me, but instead he forced his hand into mine, lacing my fingers with his. This time, Julian didn’t take up my other arm, but instead the space behind me.
“Yes,” Julian whispered into my ear. “Harold and Sharon Roger, Jayce’s adoptive parents. They were the Creators. Harold is who sponsored Jayce. I will answer your questions, but we need to be careful. All eyes are on us.” He leaned back, offering his support but just enough space between us to not touch.
The guards from before found us, placing themselves between us and the men in the crowd. Creating a boundary of protection. One stood very close to me on the opposite side of Griffin.
The familiar scent of acrid poison suffused the air; it calmed my nerves.
Oleks.
“Harold Roger has dared to break our most precious law. And thus! Punishment must be exacted!” the Priestess called. Her voice was eerie, both soft and grating as it launched itself into my ears.
Griffin’s hand squeezed tightly, to the point of pain. He attempted to rip us away, but I wouldn’t move. There was a tense energy in the air, and my gut screamed that I needed to figure out what was going on. See first hand this country with my own two eyes. Be aware of what I was getting myself into.
“Raven, please.”
I knew if he wanted to he could lift me up and throw me into the carriage. I knew that he needed to present an image of a united front. I knew that I was being insolent and purposefully so.
For too long in Violencia, I buried my head in the ground. I refused to see the truth even as it screamed in my face.
It was time to change that. I was here to fight.
I needed to know why.
The High Priestess found my gaze again. “For any man who wishes to extinguish aSacred Cherished. A reminder to him, to us all, that no matter our origin, we all arebornfrom wombs, and thus we must return him from whence he came.”
“You’re making a mistake! There’s more to it than tha—" Harold fell to his knees on a broken sob as a priest kicked his calves and shoved him over.
The High Priestess’s iridescent skin shimmered under the sun as she snapped her fingers in the air.
The world went silent. Harold. The crowd. Griffin. Even my heart seemed to slow, the beats soft and distant.
And then the next few steps happened quickly.
Several priests dragged Harold up off the stage. I expected him to be taken away, but instead, he was walked to the small boat behind the Priestess. From this vantage point, I could see it all.
As they lifted open a hatch on the metal tube, stuffing a struggling Harold onto his knees and into it.
As another lit a fire under the metal contraption, as they locked it closed with Harold inside, as the Priestess waited forthe priests to leave the boat, she released the rope securing it behind her.
Harold’s voluble begging landed on deaf ears as his fingers poked up through the small hole on top.
For a single instance, my eyes flicked to the other side of the river, to what the boat had been blocking.
To the three people on a stage. One woman and two men were present, watching this act. Their attire was similar to Griffin’s but different hues.Royalty.
It was difficult to distinguish their faces from this distance, but even still, there was an odd familiarity.
And then the fire caught, engulfing up and around the seed-like metal tube, and Harold’s blood-curling screams pierced the air, pulling back my full attention. It was clear that he was already in excruciating agony.
It was similar to boiling a piece of meat without water. I could only imagine the way his skin stuck to the metal inside. The agony he must be experiencing.
The agony he well deserves.
The men in the crowd were silent as they observed it unfold.
