Page 51 of To No End

“Come now. Time and tide wait for no one.” My father extended a hand to help me into my seat.

I tried to smile at this tired old saying of his, but I was too focused on the seriousness of this journey.

As the carriage rattled along the road leaving the grounds of our home, I watched the manor blanketed in sunrise, once and for all, thinking of a future that might have been.

CHAPTER

15

Four excruciatingly long days, that is how long I’d be stuck in a tiny, uncomfortable carriage alongside my mother and father. I was informed we’d only be making brief stops along the way to relieve ourselves. Chef had already prepared meals for us to eat on the way. We were instructed to keep moving and told that we wouldn’t be allowed to stay overnight at any private residences or inns to avoid bringing attention to our caravan. Hence, the unmarked carriage and lack of regalia on our company’s attire.

We each mostly kept to ourselves, napping, reading, occasionally forcing small talk and then staring out the window at the passing scenery. My mother gave me a silent but questioning nod at the feather earring peeking out from between strands of my hair, but with a single eyebrow raise from me, she did not pry any further.

I had not been to Tinsilor Castle since I was very young and had forgotten how monotonous the trip was. Occasionally, I’d find myself daydreaming about Trace and where he might be with the Kingsguard.

My father informed us we’d be arriving around nightfall and that they had a strict timeline and very clear instructions for the Offering. My mother and father donned their normal attire, but I was provided a plain white, long-sleeved dress to change into.

The material was cheap and thin, the texture slightly itchy. There wasn’t a single marking or design to be found anywhere on the fabric. Lastly, and most uniquely, the top of the dress included a hood, and attached to that was a thinner, sheer-white fabric meant to be pulled over my entire face as a veil. When I pulled the veil over my face and sat across from my father in the carriage, he began to panic.

“Seraphine, we can’t do this. I won’t!”

He began to move about the carriage in a flustered manner. My mother’s eyes widened with concern.

“They must accept something else. Surely money, jewels, a fleet of ships. Anything but her!”

My mother was on the verge of tears, witnessing my father’s breakdown. He fidgeted with his hands, unable to sit still or calm himself. I lifted the veil to reveal my face to him, hoping the gesture would bring him some sense of relief.

“Father, I’ve accepted my fate. Don’t waste the last moments I have with you.”

My words broke him and he began to cry too, reaching for my hands to clasp in his. He apologized profusely over and over in a whisper. My mother shook her head in despair, unable to tear her gaze from the window and face me. She placed a hand on my knee but kept her eyes averted. I removed one hand from my father’s grasp and placed it on top of hers.

There was nothing I could do to console them, but I was steadfast in my courage. I was done crying and feeling sad for myself. I wanted no pity, not even my own. The silent tears carried us like a river the remainder of the journey to the castle’sdoorway, where outside our window, pitch black consumed the starless night sky.

They each placed a kiss on my cheek, and I took one last look into their eyes without the constricted view of the veil. Mother’s dark eyes contrasted Father’s green, but the whites of their eyes were both moist and red with the same agony.

“I love you, and I always will.” I imparted my final words to them before pulling the sheer veil across my face and turning to the carriage door. To become an Offering.

My mother and father escorted me up the steps of the castle and into the expansive great hall. The room was concerningly empty, except for a few individuals at the dais. The king and queen, another male who looked unassumingly dangerous, and a female who most certainly had to have been a priestess given her ethereal beauty and attire.

The hall was absent of any tapestries or banners of the great Houses. Not a single family crest in sight, no tables filled with gold plate settings, no silk draperies. None of the usual symbolic decorations were displayed to welcome an audience. This, combined with the secrecy of our caravan, only further assured me that we were not an audience they wanted the kingdom to be aware of.

With each step we took forward, I felt like heavy stones were weighing down my feet. The barely-there gown did little to shield me from the breezy halls of the castle.

When we arrived at the foot of the dais, the male standing at the king’s right spoke, his voice smooth and confident.

“Who presents this Offering to his majesty, King Aeon I, Son of Ciaran, ruler of Cambria?”

My father answered, his voice still trembling with emotion, “We do, Your Majesty. Niall, High Lord of House Blackthorn,and my wife, High Lady Seraphine. We present to you an Offering. Our daughter, Cressida Blackthorn. May she serve you and the realm for all her days.”

At the closing of his remarks, he and my mother bowed, and I quickly followed their lead, dipping my veiled head.

Aeon’s mouthpiece continued ceremoniously, “The king accepts your most precious Offering with humble gratitude. He shall now gaze upon her unveiled face in recognition of who she is now, who she has been, and who she will always be to you.”

Aeon stepped forward, and my hands began to tremor nervously at the prospect of the king approaching me. He lifted the veil with both hands, holding it above the brim of my eyebrows and stared down at me like he was peering into my soul. I could not bring myself to blink. I just stared back, a well of emotions pooling in my chest at what he was doing to me, to my family, and with zero explanation for his actions.

A king was accountable to no one except the Gods. His face remained solemn as he nodded and lowered the veil back down to cover my face. He returned to the throne and seated himself.

The mysterious male carried on, “As generations have before, so too are you now required to sacrifice an Offering. Know your king takes no pride or pleasure in breaking the sacred bonds of blood. This loss will not be in vain. The Gods smile favorably on the protectors of the realm.”

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