“—your final words before you depart this life?” The magistrate yielded the floor.
A hush swept over the crowd. The speech I’d prepared evaporated into nothing, my mouth arid and useless. A crackling panic consumed me, paralyzing me in place.
My eyes flicked down to Beau. My calm in the storm. My constant. The only unconditional love I had known. He was fighting tears and mouthed something to me. I narrowed my eyes and blinked away my own, and he mouthed it again.
Live.
Live.
He wanted me to live.
Something in me snapped.
“I—”
“Speak up, witch!” someone shouted, garnering cheers of agreement from the restless crowd. They wanted their show. They wanted my death.
I couldn’t let Lydia’s final memory of me be my severed head rolling away from my limp body. I couldn’t let Beau be subjected to the satisfied roar of the crowd once they’d had their blood. I couldn’t let the scheming Traveler put anyone else in my family in danger.
“I—accept these charges.”
I’d never actually pleaded guilty or admitted to any of my supposed crimes, but I didn’t have evidence to support my innocence. The Crown labeled me how they saw fit.
I cleared away the debris in my throat. “But after much consideration…” The crowd held its breath.
I had been silenced before. I had submitted before. To Hollis. To the Crown.
But this time, I would fight. And I would live.
“I’ve chosen to relinquish myself to the Hive.”
Dozens of disappointed groans spread through the courtyard. No blood tonight.
“That is very noble. We appreciate your sacrifice, Lady Ashford,” the magistrate announced, reminding the crowd the act was selfless and worth acknowledging. That because I went, it wouldn’t require another volunteer in my stead.
“Bergmont,” I corrected. His round cheeks flared at my boldness.
Before being hastily ushered off the stage, I glanced at my family. Cova wore a rare expression of approval and nodded as a parting gift.
And to Beau I mouthed, ‘Life.’
Guards held a barrier between the unsatisfied mob and me. The magistrate remained on the stage, shouting other royal announcements while I was escorted down the steps to the awaiting Traveler.
“Hello, lovely.”
Chapter 5
Three Guesses
Five armed men and Dommik, all donning Traveler’s blues, readied horses at the Illica gates.
“Your prisoner should be shackled,” a royal guard barked. His words rode a puff of steam in the evening air.
“She won’t be any trouble,” Dommik assured the guard, his gaze dipping to my shiver. He pulled a black cloak from a pack on his beautiful gray mount. I stood still and breathless—in disbelief I was still alive—as he wrapped the fabric around me. The cloak was comically oversized for my height. Its aroma encompassed me immediately. Freshly tanned leather and crisp pine.
I looked up, meeting his gaze. His gloved hands slid down my shoulders as he asked, “Right?”
I nodded. The heaviness of my choice settled on my shoulders under the weight of the fabric. I was alive, and this man would escort me to the Hive.
