The sound of a key turning in the door to Amira’s antechamber startled her. Amira turned from her bright window and was greeted by Karwyn’s fake smile. The grin briefly chased away her fears, replacing them with fury. She desired nothing more than to slam the door in his face. He looked her up and down, obviously displeased at her attempt to honour Sydna and Mylner’s imminent death with a long black dress.
She’d had to dress herself this morning as Nalani was nowhere to be found. Maybe the guard at the door had prevented her from coming in. The alone time had given her the dreadful opportunity to think about all the horrible things that were bound to happen. She would either marry Karwyn, a tyrant in training, or the marriage would be called off and she’d have to go back to her brother, her long-time abuser. A frightening numbness spread through her. Was there any point left in hoping for a better life?
Karwyn extended his hand. “Come, we would not want to miss the show, would we?” When she made no move, he grabbed her arm forcefully and pulled her out of the room.
On their way to the palace’s gates, Karwyn leaned towards her and whispered in her ear, “I am truly sorry, but I have had to mention your little rebellion to your brother. He is coming to the portrait reveal in a couple of days. You do not deserve to attend, but I am sure he will find the time to come talk with you.”
The threat made Amira’s blood run cold. So he wasn’t calling off the engagement, but he was still throwing her to the wolves.
“And I am sure you will be glad to know that your little attempt yesterday has added a new name to the executioner’s list,” Karwyn said with a cold smile.
Amira’s eyes widened. Who was the other victim she had condemned to death? Rhay? No, Karwyn would never.Me?
“Who?” she finally asked in a shaky voice.
“The guard who was supposed to keep them in their cage. He failed at a very simple task and then had the audacity to pretend that he rang the alarm when I know for a fact that Layken did. He deserves to perish just for the lie.”
Karwyn squeezed her shaking hand, anchoring her guilt deep inside her. Three fae were going to die because of her. Once again, instead of helping, she was the burning flame destroying everything in its path.
“Have you seen your maid recently?” Karwyn asked. His lips pulled into a sly grin as he caught her questioning gaze. “I would not hold my breath for her return. She has no interest in serving such an ungrateful brat.”
Amira tensed up. Like Wryen, Karwyn was truly removing everyone she cared about from her life. Or was Nalani relieved to be taken from her service?
During the rest of the walk, Karwyn remained silent. His grip on her arm was strong, but he didn’t bother trying to read her thoughts. After all, he could see all of them painted on her face.
Karwyn dragged her to the open front door. Amira let herself be handled like a capricious child. At the bottom of the stairs, a wooden platform had been built. A chill ran down her spine when she caught sight of the executioner with his shiny almandine sword.
Grandstands had been put up in front of the platform and most of them were already filled with an excited crowd. Amira recognised a few faces from the palace, but she noticed that a lot of the fae were just regular folks who had been drawn in by the prospect of seeing blood. The absence of war had given people a taste for violence. It was like they were longing for it, Amira could see it on their faces. She had never understood how the fae still had an appetite for bloodshed after the war against the Dark King.
The closer she came to the platform, the stranger she felt. Her whole body was pulsating with dread and she wasn’t even aware of what was happening around her. She could see herself walking but it didn’t feel like she was moving. Everything turned dark and she squeezed her eyes shut.
When she opened them again, she was sitting next to Karwyn in the centre of the main grandstand. She looked around but couldn’t see Rhay anywhere. Even if Karwyn’s face showed no emotion, Amira knew that he must be upset by his absence.
Karwyn stood up and nodded at a guard. Sydna, Mylner, and the young guard were brought onto the platform, gagged and bound. No chance to escape, no chance to scream. Amira could see Sydna’s desperate eyes looking for her in the crowd. She wanted to avoid them, but her head wouldn’t move away, as if she was looking for punishment in her once trustful eyes.
People were shouting insults at the three fae. Amira hummed to fill her head with a buzzing sound instead of the angry voices surrounding her. Her body turned cold and pain shot through her body so intensely, she had to dig her fingernails into her palm to stop herself from screaming.
She saw herself six years ago, strands coming out of her perfect bun, trapped on a balcony overlooking another execution. She couldn’t do anything, couldn’t even move. She had tried to catch the victim’s eyes. Amira had pleaded in her head for the crowd to move so thatshecould see Amira right before being executed, burned alive at Wryen’s hand. But Amira had been too far up.
For anyone close by she would have looked like a calm bystander. No one could have seen that Amira’s hands had been tied behind her back, no one but the person standing next to her. But he was the one who had tied the ropes. With a grin Amira would never be able to erase, Wryen had sent a spark from the balcony to the waiting pyre, setting it on fire, and her life with it.
Four screams echoed through her head, the present and the past blending together. Amira felt a warm breath on her cheek. “It’s all your fault,” whispered a man’s voice.It’s all my fault,she repeated in her head as her heart broke into a million pieces.
She watched in horror as the almandine blade plunged into the hearts of Sydna, Mylner, and the guard, one after the other going limp, the light in their eyes smothered by death.
A memory of green eyes flashed in her head. So full life until that fateful day. The fire had taken it all. It had clawed at Amira’s mind, making her feel utterly alone and trapped as she watched until only ashes remained.
The crowd cheered, forcing Amira back to the present. The bodies of Sydna, Mylner, and the guard lay perfectly still on the platform. A silent cry left Amira’s throat. Her own body felt lifeless in that instant. All the smiles around her looked crooked and menacing. Her instinct told her to run. They had died because ofher.
Amira stood up with no feeling in her legs, ignoring the annoyed look coming from Karwyn and moving away before he could send guards to escort her back. Fae were wanting his attention, trapping him in some conversation. She hoped it was the kind of meaningless chatter he hated.
As if she was sleepwalking, she climbed down the grandstand fast, avoiding the groups of fae talking enthusiastically about the execution.
As she came down, she noticed that four guards were taking the bodies of Mylner and Sydna and dragging them up towards the palace. She would have expected the corpses to be burned quickly after their death so that their souls would be able to reach Caelo. A new wave of uneasiness took over her mind. What were they going to do with the bodies?
Amira couldn’t forget Sydna’s eyes searching for hers in the crowd. She owed it to her that her soul would at least take to the sky.
Chapter51
