Chapter 67
My arrow struck him in the stomach, and he fell to his knees.
Now, as people began running away in fear and clearing a path for me to ride toward the stage, none of them seemed to know who to look at anymore.
Me, bloody, riding toward them with a bow in my hands, or the executioner with my arrow buried inside him.
“Jump,” I commanded the stallion, tightening my thighs around his powerful barrel with everything I had left, and the noble beast did exactly that.
He crashed into two palace guards, but I did not wait for him to steady his footing;
I threw myself from his back, somehow landing on my unsteady feet. In a single, desperate motion, I stepped over Lysande, positioning my own frame so that his broken body was sheltered entirely beneath mine, and raised my bow .
The horse disappeared from the stage as both guards and royals tried to move closer. Yet the arrow aimed directly at them forced them to stop.
“Daughter, what are you doing?” Father asked, unable to hide the fear and shock in his voice.
“I won't let you do this,” I said, shaking my head. “I cannot let you take him from me.”
He clenched his jaw. His crown shone upon his head, while he hid his trembling hands behind his back so I wouldn't see them. ?Are you out of your mind, girl? Put down that bow!“ Beside him, Sanaedeo tried to step forward, but I pointed the arrow toward him as well.
“I begged you upon my knees to help me, brother. What manner of a man are you?” I asked, my words laced with bitter betrayal, and he only took a heavy step backward, not meeting
For a fleeting heartbeat, I lowered my blurred gaze toward Lysande, who was still resting his head flat against the edge of the execution block.
He was motionless, his chest barely rising as he struggled for a single shallow breath.
His bloodied wounds shone in the light, and only his torn trousers, soaked with dark liquid, separated him from complete nakedness.
“He loves me, Father. He did not dishonor me. He did not force me or make me do anything. He loved me.”
Finally, my voice broke, and the bow struck against my body. I felt him move beneath me, his body falling to the floor with a dull thud.
Tears streamed down my face, but I did not move.
“Father, please,” I pleaded, and finally something changed in his eyes.
When another soldier tried to approach, I raised my bow toward him again, and the arrow whistled directly into his shin.
I turned toward Father and my brothers, all of them staring at me with wide eyes. Even Faran looked shocked by what I had done.
“Whose blood is that, daughter?” Father asked.
I only let out a loud, mocking laugh that bordered on complete madness. “A loyal dog's,” I answered, and Faran's jaw dropped. The crowd slowly began returning toward the stage, but now everyone stood in silence, watching the madness unfolding before them.
“Let me plead my case, Father, please,” I begged, finally throwing the bow onto the ground.
I crouched beside Lys, who lay motionless, his eyes closed and his face pale against the wood.
“Is it such an unfathomable sin, Father, to love someone whom I am forbidden to love?” I asked.
He looked toward the crowd, then back at me.
The wind blew, carrying the scent of salt through the air.
“Do I have to watch you tear my soul apart just because he isn't a prince?”
I gently pulled his head onto my lap, and as though I had only just realized everything I had done, I bent over him and wrapped my arms around his thin, broken body.
I pressed myself against him and cried into his hair until his eyes slowly opened.
He looked up at my face for only a brief fraction of a second, and immediately, through all the horrific wounds and dark bruises Faran had given him, his lips pulled into a smile.
“My love,” he rasped. I only cried harder and pulled him towards me once more. When he raised his hand to touch my face, the king gave an order.
“Take them both to the castle; this needs to be dealt with between the eyes of lords, not peasants.”
I lifted my gaze toward him, and he simply looked at me.
“The Princess will be granted the honor to present her true case before the entirety of the court.”
Then they dragged both of us away.
Alone with several soldiers, I waited outside the throne room doors.
They had given me a cloth to wipe my face, a coat to pull over my dress and hide the blood, and a cup of water to drink.
There was still no sign of Lysande, and I had no idea where they had taken him.
Whenever I asked, they only answered that the king had ordered silence.
But it didn't matter to me.
My Lysande was still alive.
It felt as though an entire winter had passed while I waited behind the enormous mahogany doors that had guarded this room for hundreds of summers, surrounded by thick stone walls that could withstand any enemy siege.
My hands were still shaking violently beneath the folds of the coat, and the residual blood in my hair had begun to dry hard against my skin.
I kept my gaze fixed on the golden handles.
I had no idea what my father would decide within those walls. I did not know whether the words waiting inside my head would be powerful enough to change our fate
But one single thing I held as absolute truth: either both of us walk through those doors alive, or my head shall rest beside his beneath the blade of the sword.
Finally, my name echoed from somewhere beyond the vaulted threshold.“The Princess Isolde will now step forward to present her case.”
The doors opened.
I wrapped my arms around myself and with blood still matting my hair, I stepped into the throne room.