Lestara—hair tangled, nightgown stained—stumbled from the press of onlookers, Hazel and a handful of soldiers trailing in her wake. Civilians gasped and shrank back, some crying out at the sight of her. Nobles leaned forward, some scandalized, others enraptured by the drama unfolding.
She doubled over beside William’s horse, her body trembling from the lingering pains of long labor. “Give him to me!” she demanded. “You should not have taken him!”
William gave a chuckle. “You see your queen’s protective spirit? She will instill this into our son, and he will be a king like no other.”
Applause followed, though scattered and uneven. Lestara’s expression twisted as she reached up, arms shaking, to take her baby.
William passed the infant down, but his body swayed in the saddle. He caught the horse’s mane, steadying himself with a frown and a shake of his head. Then he gestured toward Ahnna.
“Do you have any final words?”
This was the moment when she needed to confess to uphold her part of the bargain, but the words vanished from her tongue as she focused on his cheek—no longer just red. Blisters, angry and swollen, now mottled the flesh.
Poison.
William coughed, the sound wet and hacking, and he pressed a hand to his chest in pain. “Confess to those you have wronged, and go to death with a clear—”
The rest drowned in a gruesome tide of blood. He gagged and vomited, spraying crimson across the horse’s white neck. The beast reared, screaming, and panic cascaded through the crowd.
Ahnna heard screams from the gallery. Soldiers surged forward, struggling to keep order. Civilians shouted in confusion, mothers scooping children into their arms, but rather than fleeing, they pressed closer for a better view.
Lestara screamed, cradling the baby to her chest as she stumbled back from the terrified horse. “William!”
Another wave of blood spilled from his lips, and then William collapsed, hitting the cobblestones with a sickening thud.
Ahnna’s knees gave, only the noose around her neck keeping her upright. She needed William. Needed him to make good on his promise. Without him, there would be no leash on Alexandra’s fury.
And Alexandra was screaming. Skirts gathered in her fists, she raced from the gallery, barreling past stunned nobles and shoving through soldiers. “Get the physician! Get the physician! Hurry!”
But it wouldn’t matter. The blisters were bursting now, William’s limbs jerking in grotesque spasms. Blood gushed from his nose, ears, mouth. The crowd recoiled as one, horrified. Several people vomited. A noblewoman fainted in the gallery. A soldier crossed himself.
There was no medicine for this. No cure.
William gave one final gurgle, then went still. The silence that followed was total, as though the kingdom itself held its breath.
Alexandra let out a howl not meant for human throats and fell to her knees beside his body, rocking him like a child. Blood stained her hands, smeared across his lifeless face, his eyes open and glassy.
The baby began to cry again, a desperate wail that echoed across the square.
And Ahnna knew, with bone-deep certainty, that whatever future had been promised, it had died with William.
Lestara screamed and screamed, the baby’s wails cutting through the rising cacophony like a blade. The square stank of sweat and horses, blood and fear—a nauseating blend pressing down like a wet shroud.
Clutching the baby, Lestara pointed a shaking finger at Ahnna. “You did this! This was all a scheme, a trick to get close enough to William. You murdered him!”
Gasps rippled through the crowd. Some noblewomen covered their mouths, eyes wide in horror. Others leaned forward, hungry for blood.
Lestara’s face was a twisted ruin of grief, cheeks streaked with tears and sweat, but her amber eyes—those were clear. Cold. Calculating. “In the name of my son, William’s heir, I order you to kill her!”
The executioner, pale and slick with sweat, hesitated only a moment before moving. The crowd held its breath as he reached for the lever, and Ahnna’s body tensed. Her heart was a drumbeat in her ears,loud enough to drown out the crowd, the baby, the cries of confusion.
This was it. This was it.
“Stop!”
The voice rang out like a thunderclap, silencing the square. Heads turned. Ahnna’s gaze snapped from Lestara to the far side of the crowd.
James.
