Chapter 10
Ten
This time as I’m marched to the king’s study, the feeling of death hovering over me is somehow more remote. While still present, the prospect of my execution feels more like a possibility now, whereas before it was an almost certainty.
Ushered into the room, I startle at the audience waiting for me.
Before only the guards, the prince and the king and his advisor were here.
Today, well-dressed nobles fan out behind the King, expressions eager as they wait for entertainment.
Directly at the king’s side, four advisors wait with pursed lips, their judging expressions giving them an air of superiority.
Amir, the prince, stands to the side of the room, leaning up against one of the bookshelves, with Caleb, and another Chosen who I have not seen before, standing close by.
I hate this, everyone stares at me and it’s making me uncomfortable.
Why is there an audience here? The weight of their looks and expectations of failure weigh heavily on me.
Head high, I try to ignore everyone, except my eyes catch once more on the prince.
He gives me a small, reassuring smile, and while most in the room want me to fail, I can feel his positive energy.
A spark ignites in my chest, and that uncomfortable feeling becomes more bearable.
Everyone’s attention now turns to the velvet pouch I carry in my hands. At least, all do except for Caleb. No, his eyes stay locked on my face, the intensity of which causing me to look away.
The guards lead me to the centre of the room and I feel like one of those animals in cages that I once saw in a circus.
Expectant eyes watch me, all waiting for me to do something.
Do they expect me to summon magic and turn into a bat?
For the first time in my life, I wish that I did have magic just so I could scare these gawping males.
However, it is not them that I have to impress, but the King.
I can feel the weight of his shrewd stare, and slowly, I raise my gaze to meet his.
Despite wanting to do the opposite, I dip into a slight curtsy seeing as I’m trying to stay alive.
Silence fills the room, yet the king just continues to stare.
I know better than to speak, so I keep my mouth shut, but I can’t deny that I’m struggling.
He is the key to my freedom, and this stretching, heavy pause just feels cruel, dangling my potential release just before my nose.
“Did you do as I asked?”
I almost laugh at the question, the sound getting stuck in my throat.
‘Asked’ is an interesting way of phrasing it.
He makes it seem as though I had some choice in the matter.
His was more of a demand. A threat. An ultimatum.
He doesn’t bother to greet me or ask how I’m faring, jumping straight to the point.
At least he’s honest with his intentions and doesn’t try to sugar coat everything with chit-chat.
It’s clear he’s expecting me to fail, as is most of the room.
Actually, I can see the smug tightness around his eyes that he’s trying to hide.
He wants me to fail. Was I right earlier, that I am merely entertainment for these people?
I know he set me an impossible task, but to take joy in my failure… what kind of person does that make him?
Clearing my throat, I roll back my shoulders and keep my head high. “Yes, your majesty.”
My voice rings clear through the room, although the watching lords and advisors start to call out their disbelief and calls for proof.
The King raises a brow, and I can tell that he thinks I’m lying. However, he decides to humour me and glances to one of his guards, clicking his fingers in an order. “Bring them to me.”
The jump to obey, hurrying over to me. Releasing the pouch from my belt, I hold my hand out for him to take.
My gaze is locked on the king the entire time.
I know that those gemstones now hold magic, I could see and feel it, but will they?
How will they know? I may seem confidant on the outside, but internally I’m terrified.
I am so out of my depth here, but I have to trust that Kit did what I asked.
After all, he can’t redeem his favour if I’m dead.
The King takes the pouch and pours the gems into his palm.
I see the moment that something changes within him.
Jerking as though shocked by lightning, he stares down at the glittering stones in his hands.
What just happened? My stomach tightens and my heart pounds away in my chest. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this was not it.
Several people in the room seem to have a similar reaction, a shudder racking their bodies.
Glancing around with trepidation, I prepare myself for abusive comments, but they don’t come.
Half of those watching seem confused by their colleagues reactions, whereas the others look as though their breath has been knocked from them.
Prince Amir strides forward and stares down at the stones, his pupils huge.
This is it, they must be reacting to the magic in the stones. Which means, they think I’m a witch.
The King’s head snaps up as though he was able to hear my very thoughts. His eyes widen, shock taking his breath away. “You did it. You poured your magic into these stones.”
Gasps fill the room, the sound bouncing from the domed ceiling. Although, taking in their reactions, I realise that those who felt something the moment the gems were uncovered don’t seem surprised in the slightest. They knew the moment those gems hit the king’s hand that they contained magic.
“You will do it again. Tonight.” The King looks at me as he demands this, his shock turning into excitement and…
greed. Greed is a dangerous emotion as it pushes you beyond your normal boundaries, making that one thing the most important factor of your life.
If I am the only one who can do this for him, will he ever let me go?
“But…” My words cut off, throat dry from my fear and realisation that I might have just damned myself to a life as the king’s pet. “You promised you would free me.”
His stare narrows, and his hand clenches into a fist around the gemstones.
Slowly, he stands, towering above me. “The sullied cannot be trusted. I need to be sure this wasn’t a trick or a fluke before I do anything else.
” Shaking his head, he clucks his tongue in distaste.
“You should be grateful that I am giving you a chance. You could be a very rich woman if you work with me.”
I don’t care about riches; I just want to be free.
He might consider working for him as being free, but really it is just another form of prison.
The idea of staying here, under the same roof as the man who threatened both my sister’s life, and my own, makes me feel nauseous.
I clearly have something he wants, that he cannot do, and he is going to do everything he can to try and keep me.
Including, it seems, lying and forcing my hand.
Unfortunately for him, I won’t accept that.
He promised me freedom, and that is what I will get.
“If I do this, you will free me?” I realise that I’m demanding something of the king, and not only that, I am doing it in front of an audience, a dangerous thing to do.
There aren’t many options here for me though.
Do as he says or be executed, but I can try and get assurances.
There is, of course, the issue of convincing Kit to use his magic again, but I will deal with that later.
“Your highness.” Caleb steps forward and pulls the kings attention off me for a blessed moment.
Dipping his head in respect, he gestures toward me, his white band gleaming as though to remind everyone here that he has been chosen by the gods.
“The sullied shall need time to recuperate before producing magic again.”
“Hmm.” Slowly, he swings his attention back to me, pondering what Caleb just told him.
The idea is making him pause. He does not want to wait, that is becoming clear.
Is there a reason for that? Why is he in such a hurry.
However, if one of the God’s Chosen speaks out, you should always listen.
Huffing through clenched teeth, he strokes his beard. “Is the Chosen correct?”
From the corner of my eye, I see Caleb glance at me and I know he’s trying to silently communicate something to me.
I don’t see what extra time is going to do for me other than extend my capture here, but he must have a reason.
After all, he would not have spoken up and risked the ire of the king unless he had an idea.
Deciding to follow my gut, I nod. “Yes, I need time.”
Clucking his tongue again with dissatisfaction, he shakes his head. “Then you have three days. Do not let me down, remember what will happen if you disappoint me.”
He doesn’t need to remind me, the sick, sinking feeling in my get an ever-present reminder.
Ella is my motivation; I must keep her safe.
Something feels as though it has changed within me though.
In one short day, I have gone from not caring for my own life, to suddenly wanting to survive, to show them that I am strong and worthy of living.
“Return her to her cell.”
Dismissed, I start to sink within myself, sound becoming a blur as the guards grab my shoulders and start to steer me away. He isn’t freeing me. I’m trapped and I have to produce magic once more, a magic that I don’t have.
“Father, if she is the one you have been searching for, don’t you think you should treat her a little better? The cells are not a place for someone of her status.”
The prince’s voice pierces through my foggy thoughts, enough for me to pay attention to the king’s response.