17. Power | Lyra #2
Lyra’s arms dropped to her sides as she gaped. An acolyte, a merman of peace, had just committed violence against an unarmed female in public.
Aegir nodded at the merman, and he struck her again.
Sienna screamed, and the sound had a vice squeezing Lyra’s chest. She instinctively reached inward for her magic to put an end to this, but with the collar around her neck, she was powerless.
Lyra scanned the crowd. Surely this woman’s father or husband would put a stop to this.
There were only blank faces, or those that glowed with delight.
Lyra glanced at Drystan. Her last remaining hope.
He was the King. Surely he would stop this.
Drystan bore no expression, but it was not the perfect mask it usually was. There was a slight tightening around his eyes, and the light grazed the stiff set of his jaw. Lyra blinked, and it was gone.
As though she might have imagined it.
She placed a hand on his arm and squeezed. For any on-lookers, it was just an affectionate moment between two who were to be married.
But she squeezed hard, just enough to cause a lash of pain.
Drystan placed a hand atop hers and pried her fingers off his arm one at a time.
“You questioned my heritage and right to my position,” Aegir continued. “What is the punishment for such a thing?”
Sienna looked up with bright eyes as she covered her mouth. Her body trembled either from fear or pain.
Lyra was not certain which one. Aegir raised a hand, palm up, seeking answers from the crowd.
“Blood!” someone from the back of the crowd shouted.
Lyra sucked in a sharp breath.
It was loud enough that Drystan squeezed her hand. There were hungry gazes in the crowd, wanton with violence.
It made her skin crawl to see it.
They would gladly welcome the death of one of their own for speaking.
Her heart pounded against her ribs, and with each thump, she longed to feel her magic awaken.
She couldn’t allow this.
They couldn’t allow this.
Aegir snapped his fingers, and the guard unshackled Sienna’s wrists before shoving her head to the ground.
Lyra looked around, her eyes pleading for anyone to say something, to stop this.
Her eyes burned with the ghost of tears when Sienna began wailing and pleading.
“I meant no harm. Please. Please don’t do this!”
Lyra wished Wilder were here.
He would know what to do and how to stop this.
She wished she could speak with him now and ask him what to do. Lyra winced as pain lanced down her throat.
The guard pulled a long whip from his belt and raised it into the air.
He was going to whip this woman in front of them all, and no one was going to do a thing to stop it.
Time slowed, and Lyra’s gaze swept across the crowd.
Mermen stared in delight at the violence taking place. But there was a handful who could no longer hide their horror.
All of her sisters stared in varying degrees of disgust, or had lowered their heads to avoid looking.
Several members of noble families had their eyes closed, including Marina and her father.
Lyra reached for the thread of magic around her heart as if she could coax it back into existence, but Aegir threw a hand out towards her.
“It is because of mermaids like this,” his finger jutted towards Lyra, “that you think your voice should be heard.”
Lyra froze, and Aegir’s face twisted with utter contempt.
The acolyte’s arm moved quickly, the whip slicing through the water and then cutting Sienna across her back.
She screamed as blood floated up from her wound.
He reeled back and unleashed another gash.
Lyra flinched.
Drystan squeezed her hand and whispered, “Stay still.”
Again, the guard whipped Sienna.
Two more times.
Sienna had screamed herself hoarse, and the room was tinged with red.
Lyra had forced herself to watch each whip.
After the last one, she looked into the crowd.
There were too many faces of delight.
A singular face in the crowd mirrored Lyra’s fury.
Nerida stared with enough anger that the room felt warmer. Her sister didn’t even try to hide the rage burning in her eyes.
Aegir raised his hands. “Congregation,” his voice like silk despite the violence he had just ordered.
“It goes without saying that we have all been blessed with Princess Lyra’s reappearance in our realm.
Our great and mighty future King has rescued her from the clutches of our enemies.
” He waved a fist in front of him. “I know rumors spread swiftly in these waters, but we must not condemn our princess the same as we have Sienna. Through the power of worship, we will return her to her rightful place.”
Although his words were said with fervor, they hit her ears like a threat.
“I will remind you all that if you see anyone behaving in a way that would displease Ennosidas, report it at once. And I mean anyone.”
Lyra didn’t miss him glancing over his shoulder at her.
“That concludes our high tide service. I leave you with these parting words: In rising tides is where Ennosidas’ love abides.”
A silent sob followed his words.
Sienna pressed her lips together in a line to keep any more cries from spilling out. She wasn’t dead, just gravely injured.
The acolyte who had whipped her placed shackles back on her wrists and dragged her from the dais.
Aegir floated behind them.
The crowd murmured, their voices swelling, as Drystan tugged Lyra off the dais and out of the room.
“Aegir wishes to make a mockery of you,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “So I will show him who truly rules this kingdom.”
Lyra looked behind them at the crowd that was slowly dispersing and found too many watching them leave.