CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT
IRIS
The sunlight hit my eyes the moment they dragged me outside. The air was heavy, filled with the murmur of a restless crowd. Hundreds of faces stretched across the courtyard. Some looked eager, others afraid, but all were watching.
The breaking wheel stood in the center like a monument to cruelty. The sight of it made my knees weak.
The guards at my side didn’t let go. Their hands were rough on my arms, keeping me in place. I lifted my head and searched the yard until my eyes found him. William.
They were dragging him forward. His shirt was still off, his steps slow and uneven. He looked so pale. So tired. Every movement seemed to take all the strength he had left.
When they reached the wheel, the guards threw him down and began tying his arms and legs with thick rope. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood. I wanted to scream for them to stop, but no sound came out.
When they lifted his head, his eyes met mine across the yard. For a heartbeat, everything went still. His gaze held mine, calm and steady, though I could see the pain in it. It was that look that shattered me.
My heart pounded in my chest until it hurt. I couldn’t breathe. If
I didn’t do something, I knew I would break apart right there.
Then my father stepped forward. The guards straightened as he passed, and the crowd quieted.
“Father, please!” I cried. “It’s not too late to stop this. Don’t do it, I beg you!”
He didn’t look at me. His eyes stayed on the people before him.
“My people,” he began, his voice carrying clearly through the courtyard. “This man, a knight who once swore loyalty to our crown, has betrayed that vow. He has betrayed us all.”
A ripple moved through the crowd, soft murmurs spreading like
wind.
“He loved my daughter,” my father said, his voice colder now. “And in his selfishness, he sought to take her away from her husband, to break the alliance that keeps our lands safe. He put every one of you in danger. And now he will die for his crime. Let this be an example.”
My throat burned. My pulse thudded in my ears.
I turned to William again. His head was bowed, his chest rising slowly. My father’s words faded into a blur as panic began to fill me. I needed to stop this. I needed to think.
But I couldn’t. My thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind. All I could see was the man I loved, bound to the wheel. All I could hear was my father’s voice, calling for his death.
Then my father turned to William.
He says, “And as for you, know that this punishment is exactly what you deserve. You dared to defy those above you and now you’ll suffer the worst death because of it. I hope you regret your decisions.”
William slowly lifted his head. When he spoke, his voice was sudden and unexpected. “No, I don’t.”
A loud gasp erupted from the crowd. My father’s head sharply turned towards William. “What did you just say?”
William met his eyes. “You asked me if I regret loving your daughter and my answer is no.”
My father’s face twisted with rage. “You dare call it love when you have dishonored my name?”
William drew in a deep breath. “Yes, because I do not care about you or your dishonor. I will never regret loving your daughter or dishonoring your rules to be by her side. If I were given a thousand lives, I would spend each and every one of them finding her again.”
My father’s jaw tightened, but William pressed on, louder now, so the whole courtyard could hear.
“In every place, in every age, no matter the chains you bind me with, my heart will always find hers. And if you strike me down now, know this. My love does not die. It will echo through the years, through the very stones of this kingdom, until time itself forgets your name.”
He raised his head higher. “You say you’ll execute me with the worst punishment?
Well, I do not fear your blade nor your wrath.
I fear a life without her.” He moved his gaze toward me.
“I may have served you, but know this. Princess Iris holds my heart. No command, no threat, no force of arms shall tear it from her. Try to stop me if you dare. I will cut down any man or threat who dares stand in my way, even if that man is you .”
My father’s face darkened. “You dare speak such indolence at the hour of your death? You dare defy me even now?”
William gave a faint smile, one meant only for me. “I would
defy kingdoms, thrones, and kings like you if it meant one more moment with her.”
My heart beat faster. I couldn’t believe what he had just said. In front of everyone. Even though he was going to die.
My father’s expression hardened. “Start. The. Wheel,” he ordered.
“No!” I screamed, but it was too late. The wheels began to turn. My chest tightened so badly I could hardly breathe. I needed to do something, anything! But there was nothing I could do.
The wheel moved again. William didn’t even flinch. He didn’t cry out or beg. He just looked at me, calm and steady, like he was already at peace.
Something inside me broke. It wasn’t a thought or a plan.
It was a raw, unstoppable pull that took hold of me before I could think twice.
My body moved on its own, powered by terror and love.
I yanked my arms free from the guards, their startled shouts echoing behind me, and before they could grab me again, I lunged for the sword at one of their sides.
The weight of it nearly made me drop it. My hands shook, slick with sweat, but I held on. The crowd gasped, their voices rising like a wave. The sharp scrape of the wheel slowed for a second, but my father’s furious shout brought it spinning again.
“Stop the wheel this instant!” I screamed, my throat tearing with the force of it. “Stop it!”
My father turned sharply toward me, his face hard with disbelief. “What are you doing?”
I raised the sword and pressed the point to my stomach. It burned cold against my skin. “If he dies, I die too,” I said. My voice was shaking, but my words were clear.
William’s voice carried through the noise, rough and broken. “Iris, no! Don’t! Please!”
I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t. My eyes stayed on my father.
His jaw clenched. He took a slow step toward me, his tone sharp and low. “You wouldn’t kill yourself.”
Tears stung my eyes, but I didn’t look away. “If you kill him, then I will.”
A cruel laugh broke from his lips, short and bitter. He thought I was bluffing.
To prove him wrong, I pushed the sword forward.
The blade bit through skin, sharp and cold, and a burning pain spread through my abdomen.
My breath caught. The sound that left me was part gasp, part cry.
My knees trembled, and I felt something wet and warm spreading through the white fabric of my gown.
William’s voice cracked through the chaos. “Iris! Stop!”
I didn’t. I pressed it in deeper. The pain blinded me, white-hot, but it didn’t matter. Watching him die would hurt far worse.
My father’s face turned as pale as bone. His voice rose, no longer calm or commanding but desperate. “Iris, put that sword
down. Give it to me now.”
“Not until you let him go,” I said. My voice was thin and trembling, but the steel in it didn’t waver.
“Iris, I said give me that sword!”
I could hardly breathe. My arms were shaking violently now. Every muscle in my body begged me to stop. But I didn’t. I pushed the blade in another inch. More blood spilled out, running down my gown, staining it deep red. The pain was unbearable. I bit my lip hard to keep from screaming.
My father’s eyes widened in panic. “Stop the wheel!” he shouted, his voice echoing across the courtyard. “Stop the wheel this instant and release William!”
The guards rushed to obey. The wheel stopped turning. The sword slipped from my hands, and my knees gave out beneath me.
I fell forward, my vision blurring.
The only thing I could see was William. He was free. He ran toward me, shouting my name. I tried to reach for him, but my arms wouldn’t move. He dropped to his knees beside me, his hands pressing hard against my stomach to stop the bleeding.
“Iris,” he said, his voice breaking. “Why did you do that–Iris! Stay with me!”
I gritted my teeth, the pain making my whole body tremble. “I had to,” I whispered.
He held me tighter, blood covering his hands. He looked
terrified, but his eyes stayed on mine, full of love and fear all at once.
Then a shadow loomed over us. My father. His face was pale, his expression cold and furious.
“You, Sir William,” he began, anger visible in his voice. “You are hereby stripped of your title and your honors. You hold no rank in my court from this moment forward. If I see you again, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”
William didn’t look up. He didn’t even flinch. All his focus was on me. He pressed harder on the wound, whispering my name over and over as if saying it could keep me alive.
Then my father turned to me. “And you,” he said, his voice colder than I’d ever heard it. “You are banished from this kingdom. If you ever return, I will have you killed. If I hear your
name again, I will hunt you both down myself.”
I forgot about the pain for a moment. His words cut deeper than the sword ever could. Banishment. From my own home. From my father.
He stepped closer. “Leave now,” he said. “Before I change my mind and put you both on the wheel.”
I felt the world crumble inside me. The pain in my stomach was nothing compared to the ache in my chest. My Father. My own father was threatening to kill me.
William’s arms wrapped around me, steadying me as I swayed. I
could see the fear in his face, but he said nothing.
We both knew what we had to do.
He lifted me gently, his arms trembling slightly. The crowd parted, silent now. My gown was soaked in blood, and each step left a dark mark on the stones. I looked once at my father. He didn’t look back.
William held me close as we walked away from the courtyard. Away from the crowd. Away from everything I had ever known.
And though my body was weak, I clung to him. Because even in the ruin of everything, he was all I had left.