Page 31 of Midnight Ascension

The queen watches with dark amusement, her gaze flicking around the room as the voices get louder, and I realise this was what she wanted. She expected her people to call for Maliki’s death but didn’t want to suggest it herself. I should know now that everything the queen does is to protect her image.

This is so overwhelming. Not the fact that they want this justice, but the reason for it—me. Life imprisonment in a dark cell with his magic blocked sounds like hell on earth and is an awful punishment. I don’t think it’s safe for Maliki to be around, since he won’t stop his tirade against werewolves, and a dark part of me whispers that maybe he does deserve to die for what he did. What makes this so disturbing, though, is the fact that they want him dead for trying to hurt me. On some level, they are probably fearful of the negative side of the prophecy coming to pass, but I think it’s more than that. As I look around the room and take in the anger in their eyes, it’s like a religious fervour has taken over them. Many are on their feet, jeering at the bound man in the centre of the room.

Maliki seems to realise that he doesn’t have the support he thought he would, his face paling in horror. Eyes wide, he attempts to stand, his mouth opening and closing, but no sound comes out.

The queen is still watching quietly, scanning the room, and eventually, she brings her eyes to me. A shiver runs down my spine as the smallest smile pulls at her lips. Everything is happening just as she planned it.

She raises her hands in a silent gesture to capture their attention once more, and as if by magic, the shouts stop as all turn their gazes to their queen. There’s an expecting air about them, but it’s clear they don’t want to lash out against her, so with bated breath, they wait to see what she has to say.

Lowering her hands, she looks around the hall, her face open in her effort to be transparent with her people. “I have heard your opinions, and as your queen, I will honour them.” Taking a deep breath, she appears to shake her shoulders as if preparing to say something difficult. I don’t buy the act for one second, she’s loving every minute of this attention.

“Maliki, for treason to the crown and attempted murder of Laelia Fairing, you are hereby sentenced to death.”

It’s as though everyone in the hall suddenly takes a breath, and a roar of approval echoes from the walls.

The queen glances over at Kano and gestures towards the bound man. She says nothing, but my brother nods as though she does, striding forward. I realise why Kano had seemed so exhausted and reserved—he is to be the executioner. I hardly recognise my brother as he gathers his power, calling it from deep within. He almost seems to grow as his magic builds, a sparkling aura surrounding him that I don’t think others can see.

They are going to kill Maliki now, right here in front of everyone. It sends a message not to mess with the queen and will have the most impact, so she’s monopolising on that.

With a sharp gesture, Kano’s magic wraps around Maliki, binding him further and forcing him onto his knees. When he looks down at the former lord, his mouth twists into a sneer as he says something to the other man. He must be whispering, as I can’t pick it up even with my werewolf hearing. Without taking his eyes off the male, Kano holds his hand out dramatically and waits, not moving a muscle.

The way he’s acting is almost theatrical, as though he’s following a script. Frowning, I wonder what he’s waiting for, and I glance at Atlas to see if he knows what’s happening, only for a movement to stop me.

Ivar appears behind my brother, stepping out of a cloud of shadows that wasn’t there just a moment ago. I feel Syn jerk with recognition, his shrewd eyes narrowed on the mysterious male, but he says nothing. Ivar moves to his side and places something dark into Kano’s outstretched hand. When the male steps back and returns to the queen’s side, I see that Kano now holds a dagger. I don’t know what’s different about this blade to any other, but I can feel a sense of wrongness emanating from it.

I’m going to be sick.

Everything is happening so fast. I was dragged here without warning, forced to face my attacker, and now he’s been sentenced to death and is about to die before my very eyes, all in less than an hour. Not to mention who is about to carry out that sentence.

That causes me to question why Kano is the one who has to carry out the execution. Is this part of his role as the general, or is the queen asking this of him because of me? He seemed to know what the queen wanted, and the act of receiving the dagger seemed well rehearsed, as though they had done it before.Don’t assume everything is because of you, I chide myself mentally, taking small, steady breaths. A warm hand rests on the small of my back as Atlas attempts to comfort me, grounding me as my emotions threaten to overtake me.

“Laelia, please step forward. You can leave your mates there.”

The queen’s words cause me to freeze. She might have sweetened it with a “please,” but I know I don’t have a choice in the matter. Panic swells within me as my mind starts to think of all the reasons why I’m being called forward. Is she making sure that I am close enough to see every gory detail of Maliki’s death? Or even worse, is she going to put me on trial? No, she wouldn’t risk it here with so many witches who support me observing. I need to stop catastrophising and pull myself together.

Glancing over my shoulder, I meet each of my mates’ gazes with a small, soft smile before turning back and stepping forward to meet the queen.

“Your Majesty,” Atlas starts from behind me, but she cuts him off with a glare and a sharp wave of her hand.

Watching each of my steps with a curl of her lips, the queen says nothing, making it seem like I’m crossing the space for an eternity with bated breath. She can see exactly how this is affecting me. Each step away from my mates feels like a mile, the bond stretching and pulling in my chest, yet I ignore the feeling as best as I can and continue on. When I pass Maliki, I ignore him completely but allow myself to briefly meet Kano’s eyes. He looks just as puzzled by this as I am. Once I’m just beyond my brother, the queen raises a hand in a motion for me to stop, which I do.

“Laelia, it is now time for your second challenge to prove yourself as the one to bring peace to us all,” the queen announces with a beatific smile, opening her arms wide as she encompasses everyone in the room with her gesture. “Sometimes, in the name of peace, it is necessary to take a life. As such, your challenge is to kill this man.”

I should have seen it coming. There was a reason she had me stand at the front of the hall. She wants me to take a life. She wants to make me a murderer for the sake of a prophecy I’m not sure is real. Of course she would stage it this way, making it almost impossible for me to refuse while hundreds watch on.

Kill this man. Kill this man. Kill this man.

The words repeat in my mind, blocking out all else. If the watching crowd reacts, then I don’t register it, because I am too lost in my own thoughts.Just kill him, my mind whispers, urging me to act on my feelings.He doesn’t deserve to live, and you have to do this to pass the challenge. Gritting my teeth, I try to push those intrusive thoughts aside. No one deserves to die, and it’s certainly not my place to be the cause of their death. However, I can’t help but think there’s something poetic about me being the one to end his life after he tried to take mine.

Stop.

I’ve acted out in self-defence, and I believe some died in the werewolf trials as a result, but I have never attacked first. Attacking someone is so outside of my nature that it makes me physically sick, and taking a life is a foreign concept to me. Sure, I have grown a lot from the naïve young woman I was before my magic showed itself, but I won’t let this change me into someone I’m not. My beliefs and values mean a lot to me, and if I were to discard them now, I would be a hypocrite.

If I decide not to kill Maliki, there will be consequences. The question is what those would be, and if I could live with them.

I would fail the challenge and, in theory, according to the queen’s interpretation of the prophecy, I would prove that I wasn’t the chosen one. The title has never felt right to me, and I hate the way others look at me with expectancy in their eyes, so to no longer have that pressure on me might be a relief. On the other hand, I know the goddess has plans for me, and uniting the two races is part of that.

Will I be expelled from Haven if I don’t comply? I don’t want to be here, I never have, but I don’t trust the queen. There is no doubt in my mind she would find a way to punish me for refusing, such as keeping my mates prisoner, or threatening to hurt one of them.

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