Chapter 55 #2
A guard’s hand tightened around Myra’s elbow, and she staggered to her feet with a muffled scream.
Her face paled as she took in the overwhelming sense of treachery that spilled from each person in the room.
And though there were some that appeared to be leery of Sebastian’s claims, the majority were easily falling for his lies.
She could see it in every glance, every twitch, every narrowed gaze, and furrowed brow.
Where is Laurince?
But Laurince would not save her this time. Nor would anyone in this room.
Sebastian peered down at her, malice brewing in his green eyes.
"For those of you who do not know, this is Myra, one of Kalisandre’s handmaidens and an alleged close friend.
When the princess was first taken, the handmaiden was too.
We have brought her in front of you today because she holds vital information that would be unjust to keep from you all.
" Sebastian waved someone forward. "We have the honor of having the esteemed Judge Lockwood here today. He will proceed with the questioning."
Her gaze snapped to Rian, and he looked between her and the judge cautiously.
A man in a well-tailored suit stood and bowed before approaching the dais. As he walked by Myra, his hand brushed hers. The patch of skin he touched tingled and crept over her body.
"You will speak the truth and only the truth, answering yes or no to my questions, understood?" Judge Lockwood said, facing her.
A mumbled yes slipped over the gag.
Myra’s eyes widened in horror. She hadn’t meant to agree. She hadn’t meant to speak at all.
What’s happening?
The question, one she had meant to speak aloud, was stuck inside her head.
Judge Lockwood nodded to the guard, who then took off the gag. Myra sucked in a sharp breath, yet the unobstructed air did little to soothe her fear. Her hands trembled even more than before as the judge began his questioning, her focus glued to him as if cemented there.
"Were you Kalisandre’s handmaiden?"
"Yes," Myra said. Her response was immediate despite the desire to hold her tongue, to give this man and Sebastian nothing.
"Were you close to Kalisandre?"
Myra’s panic rose higher as another resounding "yes" slipped from her mouth.
The faintest grin rose to Judge Lockwood’s lips. "Did Kalisandre come here intending to steal the Frenzian throne?"
"Yes."
Tears sprang to her eyes as gasps of outrage flooded the room.
She hadn’t meant to say that. She did not wish to betray Kallie even more than she already had.
Myra needed to rectify this. She needed to fix this. Now.
She tried to force out an explanation—that Kallie wasn’t the one at fault, that Domitius was. But she couldn’t. The words wouldn’t come.
Judge Lockwood’s gaze dipped down her as if he could sense her internal panic. Amusement tickled her nose.
Who was this man, and how was he able to pull the answers from her?
There could be only one plausible explanation. Yet, as Myra stared at him with horror, there was nothing she could do about it. She was trapped, ensnared by his gift, and there was no breaking free from it.
"Is it true that she planned to manipulate the king?"
"Yes."
"Was she successful in manipulating him while she was here?"
Rian shouted over the gag.
The answer was stuck in her throat, and her eyes widened. She couldn’t say yes or no. The answer was more complex than that. His power didn’t work if the answer wasn’t clear. There was still hope.
Sebastian shifted, and Judge Lockwood cleared his throat.
"Did Kalisandre manipulate the king while she was in the castle?" the judge asked again, rephrasing the question.
"Yes," she squeaked out, the thin string of hope vanishing as quickly as it came.
"Did you and King Rian sneak into the castle yesterday intending to reinstate Rian, even if it required force?"
"Yes."
Judge Lockwood glanced at Sebastian, who gave the judge a curt nod. The muscles in Lockwood’s jaw popped when he looked back at Myra, his stare intensifying. "Is it true that the king was performing tests on animals and humans alike?"
"Yes." Terror flooded her countenance. It was a lie, though. She shouldn’t have been able to—
Myra gasped. Lockwood had not specified which king.
A guard restored her gag. As the judge stepped back, bowing to Sebastian, whatever spell he had put on her drained from her body like a fresh puncture in a bucket of water.
Her gaze snapped to Rian, who looked at her with horror and betrayal. She screamed around the gag, trying to explain that the judge had tricked her. But it was no use. The rod was lodged so far back that she nearly choked when she spoke.
The guard dragged her back to her seat.
Sebastian stepped toward the edge of the platform. "As the witness stated, yesterday King Rian snuck into the castle with the handmaiden and the captain of the King’s Guard. Someone who is innocent of these crimes would never feel the need to infiltrate his own castle, yet here he stands today."
Rian shook against the restraints, his anger overpowering him. But all it did was paint him as the man Sebastian wanted him to be: a power-hungry, vengeful king.
Myra had to do something. She had to help. If Rian carried on this way, he would only make matters worse.
So, even though she viewed it as a betrayal, Myra reached out. With the last dredge of power she had, she coaxed Rian’s senses with a tender touch, sedating his anger and rage.
When Rian calmed down, Sebastian glanced at her, a ghost of a satisfied smirk on his face.
Guilt twisted in her stomach, but she didn’t regret her choice, not this time. She only regretted not having realized Sebastian’s game sooner.
Sebastian addressed the crowd. "This is only a portion of my brother’s wrongdoings, though.
Rian has misused his power and the sacred knowledge Frenzia holds in order to build an army that would thwart any who spoke out against him.
He has mutilated their bodies and minds.
He has transformed innocent animals and turned them into wild beasts.
Some of you may have heard rumblings of the ongoing attacks in Vaneria.
For the safety of the kingdom, we have restrained many of them.
We have done our best to undo my brother’s work, taming the men he has already stripped of their humanity.
" Sebastian shook his head as if overcome with remorse and sorrow.
"But we are afraid some of it cannot be undone. "
It was lies. All lies.
Myra reached out to the crowd to persuade them to change their minds.
The moment she did, two guards threw open the doors in the back of the room.
Warning sounds filled her ears. Bax and a few other guards stumbled backward an inch in shock, yet Myra couldn’t get herself to look.
Every muscle in her body refused to move.
"If you still do not believe us, we have brought you further proof," Sebastian said. "I must warn you, though, what you are about to see is not for the faint of heart. "
A feral scream cascaded down the aisle, and Myra finally turned.
People closest to the aisle nearly fell on top of their neighbors as they tried to back away from the edge.
Myra’s knees wobbled, verging on collapse. She was seeing things. She had to be. This wasn’t their reality.
But as the guards wheeled the cart over and the man on top of it came into view, there was no mistaking the truth.
Laurince was strapped to the cart, the traces of the serum running through his veins and agony rippling through him.