Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Chaos erupted in the throne room. “Let me see that letter,” Sabine said as she rushed to Axel’s side.
After reading it, he folded it and looked at her. “Never a dull moment with you around.” He tucked the letter into his pocket.
“If you won’t let me read it, at least tell me what it says.” Axel had to be upset with her for having him arrested even though he hadn’t gone to the dungeon.
“It seems you’ve caused my dear brother a most troublesome problem he needs to deal with.” He turned and strode over to one of the dukes, striking up a conversation with him.
Sabine had no idea what he was talking about. Glancing around the room, she saw most people stood in groups discussing what had just transpired.
Lottie approached Sabine.
The queen’s guards immediately surrounded them.
“It’s a shame you went through all this trouble for nothing.” Lottie smirked.
“You deserve to be in the dungeon.”
“But I’m not.” Lottie took a step closer to Sabine, a smile curving her lips. “And in five days, I’ll be in Evander’s bed.” She stared at the queen, a challenge in her eyes.
Sabine knew Lottie wanted a reaction—probably to have evidence to claim that Sabine had committed treason by being with another man. Forcing her face to remain frozen and not show any emotion, she simply shrugged as if the thought of Lottie and Evander sharing a bed meant nothing to her.
Lottie took a step back. “I’m going to go and pack for my journey to Avoni.” She left the room.
“We need to get you out of here,” Drew said from her side. He ushered her to the antechamber off the throne room. When the door closed, he dropped to one knee. “Queen Sabine, I must apologize.”
“What for?” she asked.
“Last night.”
“If anything, I should be the one apologizing.” She still couldn’t believe Rainer had killed Erikin so callously.
He peered up at her. “I wasn’t there when you were attacked.” He stood.
“If you had been, you’d be the one dead, not Erikin.”
“I spent the night outside Lottie’s bedchamber making sure she didn’t escape. I didn’t hear about what happened to you until this morning.”
The door opened and a soldier entered. “The queen is to be immediately taken to the keep.”
“What’s going on?” Drew demanded.
“There’s a riot. The people in town are up in arms. They’re all saying the king tried to kill the queen. They’re demanding the king be hanged.”
Sabine rubbed her temples. “How did they find out?” She’d assumed only those in the palace would have known what happened.
“My guess would be the servants from the palace. Many live in the town and go home at night,” Drew explained.
Rainer would use this as another piece of evidence claiming Sabine wanted his throne.
“Let’s get you to the keep,” Drew said, heading for the door.
“Where is it located?” In all her time here in the palace, she’d never heard anyone mention there being a keep on the premises.
“It’s near the dungeon.”
Sabine didn’t want to be locked up or anywhere near the dungeon. “I have a better idea.”
Standing at the top of the turret, Sabine observed the scene before her.
The main street that cut through town was filled shoulder-to-shoulder with angry people shouting.
From where she stood, she couldn’t hear what they were saying.
“There has to be over a thousand people,” she mused.
It looked like everyone who lived in town had come out for this.
“What’s the standard procedure for a riot?
” She’d never seen anything like this in Bakley.
“No idea,” Drew answered. “We’ve never had something like this happen before.”
The bridge was lowered. Approximately fifty soldiers marched out of the palace, Rainer leading them. They crossed the bridge and headed straight into town.
The angry crowd rushed toward the king like a storm of bees.
“Let’s get you inside,” Drew said. “This isn’t going to end well.”
She considered what he said. “If these people are truly upset with the king because he hurt me, I should address them to de-escalate the situation.” No one else needed to be hurt defending her. She was already responsible for one death.
“It’s not safe for you to do that.” He turned his gaze toward the mob again. “Besides, do you really want to help the king after what he did to you?”
That was a good question. “No, I don’t. But I do want to help my subjects.
” She couldn’t stand there and let Rainer kill his own citizens—because that was exactly what he’d do.
He’d force his soldiers to kill everyone if he had to.
These people didn’t deserve to die for defending their queen.
And, honestly, she didn’t want any harm to come to the soldiers.
It wasn’t fair to make them kill their own families and countrymen.
“It may be our only option to save lives.” Her own words solidified her resolve.
She ran down the stairs, heading toward the front of the palace, wanting to stop this before it became a bloodbath.
“Think this through, Your Majesty,” Drew said, running after her.
“Don’t try to talk me out of it. I’m doing this.”
“Okay, but at least have a plan. Where do you want to address the people from so that they can hear and see you?”
She didn’t know. “Does anyone have any ideas where I can address the people from?” she asked her guards.
One of them said, “My father owns a tall building about two blocks south on the main street. If we can get you there, you’d have access to the roof.”
“That’s worth a shot.” Since it looked like most of the people were gathered on the main street, if Sabine and her guards went west a few blocks before cutting south, they might be able to make it there unnoticed. They just had to make it across the bridge before Rainer spotted them.
She ran.
When Sabine was eight years old, she had been out riding with Viktor when he’d started teasing her about being a girl and having to ride sidesaddle.
She was so mad, she rode closer to him. When she had the chance, she shoved his shoulder.
It had only been meant as a warning, but he’d fallen and broken his leg.
She’d had to ride home, alone, to get her mother and father and tell them what she’d done.
Even though she hadn’t meant to hurt Viktor, he’d broken his leg because of her.
The entire ride home, she’d been fearful of what her parents would say and do to her.
A small part of her knew that she could run away and escape their wrath.
However, the right thing to do was confront it head on.
As Sabine ran across the bridge, toward the chaos, this reminded her of that childhood memory.
The second she stepped off the bridge, she veered right, her guards surrounding her, hoping no one noticed her amongst them.
Since most everyone was on the main road, they were able to make it two blocks west before they turned and headed south.
They passed a few people here and there, but no one bothered to look at the woman in the middle of the group.
They stopped before the back door to a tall, nondescript building. One of her guards pulled out a key, unlocking it. The door opened, and Sabine ran up three flights of stairs. At the top, she pushed open another door, bursting onto the rooftop.
Sabine instructed her guards to wait near the door so the crowd’s attention would be on her.
If they saw palace sentries, the people might become even angrier at Rainer.
Nearing the edge, she silently cursed that it didn’t have a railing.
Thankfully, it wasn’t that windy out. The key was to not think about how high up she was.
Peering over the side at the mayhem below, she saw people throwing rocks and rotten fruit toward the soldiers who had set up a barricade at the northern end of the main street, just before the bridge.
Rainer stood safely behind his soldiers, his sword in hand, as he shouted instructions.
Several citizens near the barricade laid on the ground, blood pooling around their bodies.
“Are you sure you want to go through with this?” Drew asked from behind her. He was kneeling on the rooftop, out of sight, but within reach of Sabine should she need him.
Nodding, she took a step closer to the edge.
“People of Lynk!” she shouted, trying to gain their attention.
However, her voice hadn’t fully recovered from last night, so no one heard her.
Not having time to waste, she removed one of her bracelets and tossed it over the side, hitting a man on the shoulder.
He glanced up and spotted her. She waved at him.
He turned to those around him, pointing at her.
Within minutes, a hush descended over the crowd and everyone now faced Sabine.
A loud bang came from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw her guards struggling to hold the door shut.
Rainer had probably sent his soldiers to acquire her.
Her purpose here was now two-fold—she needed to not only stop this riot and save these people’s lives, but she needed to calm Rainer down so she could save her guards as well.
“My fellow citizens of Lynk,” she shouted, ignoring the pain in her throat.
“One of my greatest joys is coming into town and visiting your stores, businesses, and you, my dear people. Please know that as your queen, I serve you.” She gestured to her subjects.
“I understand you’re upset. I’m upset as well.
However, this is not the way to solve our problems.” She looked to where Rainer stood, his hands on his hips, staring at her.
“Did the king try to kill you?” someone shouted.
“It looks like it!” another yelled.
The dress she wore showed both the bruise on her neck and the one on her arm. “Yes, there was an incident last night. As you can see, I am okay. It is nice to know that you all care enough to be out here, fighting for me. Please know that I will continue to fight for you in any way I can.”