Page 53 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

“He’s indisposed.” My gut sinks again, what does indisposed mean? I know he didn’t return last night, but why isn’t he here now? Is he hurt, injured? Oblivious to my silent panic, the guard loses his patience. “Come with me, by order of the king.”

My gaze snaps up to his. Order of the king. If I refuse, then I’m breaking the law, but I know something awful is going to happen, the Mother has assured me of it. I shouldn’t go with him, and for the moment, I have a way to stop him from taking me.

“No.”

His face contorts and he swears at me before backing away. I think I’ve gotten away with it when he strides back to the open door with a bedraggled Jayne. A fear like none other takes over me, an icy feeling of dread trickling down my spine. I’m not sure when Jayne became a person I care about, a person I would sacrifice myself for, but I do and she is.

“Come out or I’ll kill the maid,” he growls, and as if to prove his point he lifts one of his meaty hands up to her throat. To her credit, Jayne struggles against him, kicking, biting, and refusing to go down without a fight. All the while I have to just watch. He finally manages to grip her throat and I take a juddering step forward, my hand out in a stop gesture.

“Don’t, Clarissa, you’re safe in ther—”

Jayne’s shout is quickly cut off when the guard’s hand tightens around her neck. She starts to go red as her air supply is cut off, her arms flailing as she attempts to claw at his hands. Ican’t let her die. Stepping right up to the threshold of the door, I try not to let my panic show.

“Okay, I’ll come with you, but you have to let her go.” The guard turns to face me, gripping Jayne for another agonising couple of seconds with a look of satisfaction in his eyes. He’s won. He releases her and she falls to the ground, coughing and gasping for air, clutching at her abused throat.

“Go inside my room and wait until Grayson comes back, you’ll be safe in there.” I hurry out of the room and grasp her, pushing her into my bedroom. A hand clutches my arm, but I don’t bother turning to look at the guard as he starts to pull me down the corridor. “Remember no one can enter unless I say so, and only you and Grayson have that permission,” I shout to her. She’s now safely ensconced in my room, panting as she leans against the doorframe with a look of devastation on her face as I’m led away.

“Hurry up, filth,” the guard growls, half dragging me as I try to catch my footing.

I want to ask where he’s taking me, but I know I won’t get an answer, and as he leads me through the rooms, I see there are two more guards waiting by the exterior door, their swords hanging at their waists, hands ready to grab them if needed. Staying silent, they fall into position behind us as the guard tugs me through the main doors and out into the corridor. I’m in my nightgown, the scars on my ankles on show for all to see, not to mention my slave marks, and my hair is in its natural state.

Everything is about to change.

Strangely enough, although I’m pretty sure I’m going to lose my life, I’m not sad. In these last few weeks, I have been able to experience what it’s like to actuallylivefor the first time. I will be upset to leave behind my friends—Wilson, Jayne, even Aileen—and I’ll miss what could have been with Prince Jacob. I wish I had gotten time to get to know Tor and his people better. Thenthere’s Vaeril and the strange connection between us. He might be my enemy, except there’s something about him... And no one should be a slave, forced to work against their own people. But I’ll miss Grayson the most, my saviour.

As I’m marched through the castle, I realise where we are going as we reach the large central courtyard that leads to the church. I can hear lots of high-pitched, confused, and scared voices, and as we enter the courtyard, I see that no one has been spared, everyone has been gathered here. The cold wind bites at my skin, the freezing, snow covered ground penetrating my bare feet.

Guards stand at all the doorways, stopping anyone from leaving

“Don’t you know who I am?” an elderly man, obviously some sort of lord as his pyjamas are made from the finest quality silk, protests as he tries to push past the guards. One of them steps forward and backhands him across his face, the crowd around him gasping in horror before falling into an uneasy silence.

“I don’t care who you are. King’s orders,” the guard spits, before returning to his spot.

As the guard continues to drag me, I can see the justice pillars gleaming like a beacon. My fear ramps up. I really don’t want to be strapped to those pillars, I don’t want to die. However, as we reach the front of the crowd, we stop, the other guard stepping up to my other side and grabbing my free arm so I can’t move.

What’s happening? If they were going to kill me, I’d be strapped to one of those pillars.I look around desperately for a clue as to what’s going on and spot Wilson on the far side of the crowd with a scared-looking Aileen at his side. I can see Tor and his kinsmen in a group near the front, but thankfully he hasn’t seen me.

A hush falls over the crowd as the king and Prince Rhydian step up onto the plinth by the pillars. The head priest and Priest Rodrick are standing just behind them, attempting to look serene and calm but they can’t keep the cruel gleam out of their eyes.

“You’re probably wondering why I dragged you all out here.” The King’s voice echoes around the courtyard, the whistling of the wind the only other sound to be heard. “There is a poison in this castle, a dark evil that is infecting my people, and I’ve come to a difficult decision. I have to eradicate this evil so the rest of my people will be safe.”

There are some murmurs of agreement, but I have a sinking feeling about what’s going to happen. The king gestures and two guards come forward, dragging a bound woman behind them. Her hair has been shaved off, but you can tell who she is by the way she holds herself—the queen.

“This is going to be a difficult time for us all, but we must be strong.” As he speaks, she is dragged to the middle pillar and strapped to it, her hands behind her back as she faces the crowd. Her face is tear stained, but she doesn’t cry now, no, she stares out, her eyes landing on the leader of the mountain tribesmen. “The queen, my wife, has been conspiring against us and has been tainted.”

The king's voice continues to ring out. The crowd is starting to realise what’s about to happen and shuffles nervously, half-hearted protests rising. The tribesmen look furious, but they stand stock-still.

“This evil can’t be tolerated,” the king shouts, as he palms a knife in his hand and spins, slicing the queen’s exposed throat in one quick movement.

“No!” The word is ripped from my throat before I even realise it, watching as her body slumps, blood gushing from herand covering the platform. People in the crowd are shouting, a couple turn away to vomit.

“Liv!” I’m not sure how I heard the shout over all the other noise as people panic, but the pure shock in the voice has me searching for the owner. Tor’s eyes are wide as he stares at me, his gaze running over me and then back to my hair. He shouts the name again and I think he’s addressing me. The guards holding me tighten their grips and start to drag me away as if by some unspoken signal. The expression on Tor’s face darkens as he starts to push his way to me, that strange feeling in my chest going taut. A fight breaks out in the crowd and he gets dragged back, his gaze staying on me as I’m roughly pulled toward the chapel.

“The evil has infected some of our slaves, so we need to wipe the slate clean to make sure it doesn’t spread any further,” the king continues. Half of the citizens are frozen in fear and the other half are fighting the tribesmen.

My eyes are ripped from Tor as I see a line of slaves being led up onto the stage and then strapped to the three pillars. A guard stands by each one, and as one, they swipe their swords across the slaves’ necks. A raw cry is ripped from me as their still bleeding bodies are unshackled and thrown off the side of the platform, and the next three are marched up onto the platform for the same treatment.

Disgust, anger, hate, and rage run through my veins like a fire, and as I turn my gaze to the king, I see he’s watching me and has the decency to look disturbed before he looks away.

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