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"What's a warlock doing at this party? Eh? Think the queen might fancy you?" The guard chuckled.
"No, I—"
"Don't mind him!" Ace interrupted, not bothering to wait for her introduction again. "I wanted someone to give me a tour of the castle and now that that's all done, I thought he could keep me company. I'm awfully lonely since my cousin, the queen, is busy preparing for her big day."
The guard looked her up and down, not believing her as easily as the one before him had. His attention slid back to Shelby.
Music picked up from the band that had made themselves at home in another corner of the room. The guard gave a short nod and began to make his way around them. As soon as he was out of hearing range, Ace leaned into Shelby, nudging him with her elbow.
“That was a close one, huh?”
“Ssshhh.” He shushed her with his finger pressed to his lips, as if that wasn’t obvious at all. “Be quiet or someone is going to hear you.”
The music built and built and with the crescendo the doors nearest the platform with the throne were thrust open.
Every ounce of air left in Ace's lungs rushed out of her at the sight of the queen. As beautiful as those paintings had been, they didn't capture the queen's beautyat all. Her dark brown hair had been pulled up in polished curls. Her honey-colored eyes sparkled, no they glowed, as the light hit them. Every graceful movement she took reflected the power she held in her palm.
Ace's knees felt funny. She tried to straighten herself but her legs were as good as two towers of jello. Gripping Shelby’s sleeve, she tugged him along with her to the nearest wall. Leaning against it, she wiped her sweaty palms on the gown, not caring if it showed.
"What's wrong?" Shelby had to lean significantly farther than any normal person would to speak quietly in her ear.
"I'm fine."
He grunted but clasped his hands in front of him without another word. Together they watched as the queen sat back while prisoners were paraded out and through the crowd. Over the music she could hear the horror,the pain, of what was about to happen. Her chest tightened.
One by one the prisoners were led up to the stairs. An old woman, a middle aged man, and…was that? No. It couldn't be. Ace stiffened and flattened herself against the wall to keep herself from falling over.
"Is that a child?!" she said through clenched teeth.
The boy was so young, his cheeks were still rounded with the baby fat men didn't lose until they had their growth spurt during puberty. His entire face was beet red. Snot and tears streaked his cheeks. And he cried. He cried with his whole body, shaking and trembling all over that damn platform.
Shelby didn't answer. He merely closed his eyes and bowed his head. This was too much. Too much to hear. Too much to see. She didn't want to see it. Yet she couldn't look away. Couldn't even so much as blink.
If the gods had been in her head today as they always were, if she could hear the prayers of the people that surrounded her, what would she be bombarded with right now? The quiet in her head was at least one thing to be grateful for.
Even the queen’s voice dripped with authority while still sounding utterly enthralling as she started speaking from her ridiculous throne. Her voice was like a lullaby. Ace stared at the queen and the wooden staff she held. Was what she did worth all this?
“Hang for their crimes." The people gathered in the room replied bringing Ace out of her thoughts.
The tremble in Ace's legs traveled up her spine. The floor swayed under her heels. Her gaze bounced from Queen Sienna who held her staff tightly and the three waiting for death. Guards forced them to the noose.
Ace teetered. She gripped Shelby's already tense arm. She looked up and his entire being was riddled with that same tension. His eyes darted to hers in question.
Rope circled the prisoners’ throats now. Ace couldn't breathe. Her chest ached. Her throat burned.
Music continued playing as if this was all just a part of the dance. Everyone ignored the way the young boy’s cries rang out. Ace's heart splintered a little more. Where were his parents? Did they know this was his fate?
A blast of air ruffled her skirts. The scarf around Shelby's neck picked up as if they'd just met a wild autumn breeze. She knew the queens had power, that’s how they’d gotten their thrones, but she’d never experienced it.
Hinges on the doors that held the prisoners up squealed as they fell open. Their bodies dropped till the rope caught them, jerking them to a stop. Ace watched it all. She watched them struggle till one by one they gave way to unconsciousness. She watched as they suffocated.
Death was ugly. Ace knew that. Death was heartbreaking and cruel. What she'd just witnessed here was enough to know Queen Sienna was cold-blooded. This queen and the three others deserved what the gods wanted Ace to deliver.
That wasn't even the worst part. Ace pressed a hand over her heart feeling it thumping against her palm. The worst part of all of this was that Ace wasjealous. Damn jealous.
Here soon when the prisoners’ hearts finally quit beating they would move on. They would go toward the light and pass on into peace. Ace had that once. For the smallest ounce of time as the gods had argued what they wanted to do, she'd been in peace. Her soul hadrested.
She was anything but rested now.
