What could the Hive want with me? With my gift? To find something. But…what?
Chapter 4
The Axe
My restlessness magnified overnight. Like being swarmed by a horde of manic hummingbirds, scenarios flitted through my mind of what my short future could entail if I agreed to go with the Traveler. Or, an even shorter future if I found myself under the axe.
Sunlight yawned over the horizon by the time I’d finally succumbed to exhaustion. Chatter from the town square rustled me from my mid-afternoon slumber.
Through the small window, was life and death. The wooden stage, permanently planted on the south side of the square, drew no attention as the citizens of Illica skittered about. All varieties of life accustomed to moving beneath the looming shadow of death.
Nausea writhed in my belly as I imagined the flurry of activity halting to witness my sentence. My white knuckles screamed, beckoning my attention to the half crescents dug into my palms. I turned away from the window and shook them loose.
“As long as you’re useful,” I muttered to myself like a madwoman as I paced.
Dozens of humans go to the Hive every year. Old, young, men, women, few had some wealth, most were poor. The vampires of the Hive didn’t care. We’re just blood to them. Sustenance.
And the Crown didn’t either, as long as our nocturnal neighbors were appeased.
As a high-born lady, it was my birthright, my privilege, to choose my death. One that the nobles of Illica usually took advantage of, despite knowing it was ultimately seen as a selfish or cowardly choice. I circled my thumbs together. Had a noble ever chosen the Hive over the axe?
I couldn’t recall. Was it the threat of becoming dinner that sent them to the executioner’s blade or the idea of living without their inherited comforts?
For me, it was the former.
Equal parts guilt and dread crept through my limbs, like a vine strangling a tree. None of it was fair. A sharp pitch filled my ears with the impending day.
The lonely chair groaned underneath my weight as I carefully sat where the Traveler had perched the night before. I hated myself for the lingering memories of his dangerously sharp jawline and charmingly crooked grin.
I knew nothing about him except that he didn’t appear at odds with his work and had found a way to survive encounters with the vampires of the Hive.
Could I survive, too?
Even if what the Traveler said was mostly true, it was unlikely…butpossible. Maybe the Hive wasn’t all slavery, torture, and death. Maybe their rumors were as grim as my own.
Considering the idea was naivety I should have outgrown, but maybe it was a symptom of my last hours.
I stared, lost in my thoughts. Will I die gracefully or scream out at the last moment as I had seen so many nobles do? Elongated shadows reached out to me, growing with every dip of the sun’s descent to the horizon.
My cell door opened for what would be the last time and jolted me back into the present. The guard, whom I’d become accustomed to, met my eyes and offered a somber smile. “M’lady. Your attendants are here to prepare you.”
A small entourage of Illica guards escorted me in a protective framedown a dim hallway. The sounds of our echoing steps slowly yielded to the growing crowd. My death’s audience.
I had been dressed in a thin, beige gown. My hair was arduously detangled and rebraided before it was pinned to fit beneath a white cap, leaving my neck bare. A view desired by my executioner.
Three swift and powerful steps called my attention.
The end of the ominous concourse hosted a familiar hooded figure, hands folded in front of his deep blue cloak and stormy eyes fixed on me.
“Lady Bergmont.” His warm tone and earthy scent swirled around me.
“Lord Traveler.” The acknowledgement stings my tongue with an acrid taste. If it weren’t for the sake of appearance to those within earshot, he would suffer under my silence.
He exhaled slowly. “Your time is near.”
“It is.” The guards around us shifted with anxious energy. We couldn’t linger here. The Crown demanded my end, and the crowd expected their entertainment.
“Excuse us,” the Traveler said, waving away the guards with the confidence of an old money lord. To my surprise, they listened, moving to line the hall to the courtyard. Piercing eyes swept over me, landing on my bare neck.
