Page 66 of Beguiled
I drew in a sharp breath at the sight of two soldiers leading Mikkel, gagged and bound, onto the green. They shoved him to a post, swiftly looped his arms overhead to a hook, and then sliced open his shirt, rendering his back bare. One of the soldiers held a scourge covered in bits of bone and rock. I shuddered, praying Gregor and the outcasts would strike before Mikkel had to suffer.
Just as soon as I lifted the prayer heavenward, the queen nodded at the soldier with the whip. He braced his feet, lifted the leather strip, and brought it down against Mikkel, the whistle and ensuing slap echoing in the air.
I screamed at the same instant Mikkel arched in agony as the jagged edges of the whip tore into his flesh. “No!” I started toward him but only managed two steps before a knight restrained me.
“Release him!” Frantic, I twisted to face the queen again. This time I dropped to my knees, forcing the knight to release his grip on me. I bowed low, pressing my face into the overlong grass. “Please, Your Majesty. I beg of you. He is of no consequence to you. ’Tis me you need, not him.”
I didn’t care that I was groveling. My good intention of standing up to her fled as my need to protect Mikkel swelled.
“I had considered keeping the prince locked away the same as Ruby,” the queen said. “But I see he will be of use in ensuring your fullest cooperation.”
Not only was she torturing Mikkel to bend me to her wishes, but Ruby was still stuck in the queen’s grasp. All my efforts to free her had been for naught.
I kept my head bowed so the queen couldn’t see how much I despised her. The hatred that had been building for months boiled near the surface, and I fisted my hands with the need to jump up, surround the queen’s neck, and squeeze.
“Bitterness leads to bondage, but forgiveness sets us free.”Sister Clare’s wise words to Ruby echoed in my mind. I didn’t want to forgive my mother, but I couldn’t go to my death full of bitterness and hatred. I wanted to be free and at peace.
With my hair loose and shielding my face like a veil, I closed my eyes.God, aid me in forgiving the queen for not loving me the way a mother should. Aid me in forgiving her, not for her sake but for mine. I want to be free.
“’Tis a shame.” The queen’s tone was condescending. “To think that if you had remained content instead of aspiring to the throne, you might have become Prince Mikkel’s wife.”
“I did not aspire to the throne. We both know that. And I am already his wife.” The words came out before I could stop them. What did it matter if the queen knew of our marriage? Matters couldn’t get any worse.
The queen drew in a sharp breath. “What did you say?”
“I am married to Prince Mikkel.”
She grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head back, forcing me to look up at her. Strain creased her forehead and formed lines at the sides of her mouth, marring her beauty and showing her age. “You are lying.”
I winced at the tight grip against my scalp. “No, Your Majesty. We are man and wife and have been since a fortnight after Midsummer’s Eve.”
Her eyes widened, revealing a panic I didn’t understand. She stared at me as though she might slap me, then forced her features to relax. “’Tis of no consequence. Marriage is outlawed in Warwick until the age of twenty, thus your union is rendered void. I shall have the priests draw up annulment papers forthwith.”
What difference did it make to her whether I was married? Unless...
My pulse skipped forward at double the speed. In addition to the other qualifications for the alchemy, she needed the heart of anunmarriedwoman. That was why she’d made the regulation for the marriage age in Warwick. And that was why now she wouldn’t be able to use my heart for her alchemy process.
“Mikkel and I were not married in Warwick.” I chose my words with care. Everything depended upon the next few moments. “We were wed in Norland on the Isle of Outcasts by a priest in front of both God and man as our witnesses.”
“How dare you? You had no right to marry without my permission. All the more reason to execute you.” Though her tone and grip remained unyielding, something flickered in her eyes. Was it indecision? It couldn’t be.
From the corner of my eye, I could see the confusion on her advisors’ faces. They clearly had no notion of the queen’s evil alchemy process and her use of a maiden’s heart. I could expose her secret right now, but I sensed she would deny it and proceed to torture Mikkel until he died before my eyes.
But if I kept her secret and aided her efforts, I might be able to bargain for both Mikkel’s and Ruby’s lives. I had to try it now, before Gregor and my friends began their rescue attempt.
“I am of no use to you dead. But I would be of great value to you alive. I have the ability to find what you seek.”
Her lips curved into a sneer. “And what do I seek?”
“Queen Aurora. I shall bring you her heart.”
Her gaze locked with mine. She wanted to know if I understood the secrets of her alchemy.
I nodded.
“Kill her.” She shoved me toward the stone.
“No!” The knights bent to pull me away from the queen, but I struggled to resist. “You have sought Queen Aurora her whole life and her keys to an ancient treasure. I shall find her and the keys so you can have the kingdom and the treasure that is rightfully yours.”
