AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No, I am not finished. As you are well aware, a traitor has no name,” he admonished condescendingly, his voice even more nasal and malice-filled than normal. “A traitor has no honor, so we will not honor him by speaking his name again. In or out of this chamber! Do I make myself clear?” he growl-whined, leaning forward so he could look down his long nose at me. “He is no one, and that is how he shall be remembered! We are not here to discuss the actions of your father. He is indefensibly guilty.” He smiled, his crooked front tooth pointing at me. “Your fate is the one in peril.”
I tried to appear chastised, with my eyes lowered so they wouldn’t see that they were full of pure loathing. Hate wasn’t a strong enough word for how I felt about that man as his smug tone grated my every nerve.
My Father was far fromno one.
They may have taken away Father’s many accomplishments and his whole identity, stripping him of his legacy. They may have ensured that no one would openly reminisce on the first and very highly regarded leader of the Denalians. They may have guaranteed that no one would eulogize about how his principles and morals were absolute. Or write about how he spent his life fighting for the good of the kingdom.
But I knew my Father, and I had to hope others would remember him for the man he truly was— a servant of the kingdom and the best of men.
I bit my tongue. I had little doubt that this particular councilman would relish any excuse to punish me further.
The head councilor continued, sighing. “Kaia, please continue and remember where you are.”
The Head Councilman was right. I needed to at least attempt to reason with them, even if their minds were set before I ever entered the room. I would tell my truth. I continued my defense, looking straight at the council with as much sincerity as possible.
“I knew nothing of the assassination attempt on the King. To the best of my knowledge, my father was a loyal member of your service. He always put service to the kingdom above anything else.” I took a calming breath. “Honestly, including over his own family sometimes. My whole childhood, Father spoke of the fairness of the King and the righteousness of the council. He believed in the ideologies you stood for and would not have sold out the kingdom to the rebels. I honestly cannot fathom why he would have done something like this as he was the best man I have ever known.”
I wasn't completely lying.
Father did not always agree with the people who ran this country, but he did believe in their goal. He wanted the country to be safe, protected, and fed and he worked with those who could help him achieve this goal. Sure, he often used his influence to help the people without the king's and council's explicit direction, but he wouldn’t have tried to kill them. At least, I didn’t think so.
Whether they had executed my father in error, or the king truly had deserved to die, a spark of doubt had begun to grow— a fierce concept that threatened my very foundation. I could no longer look at the kingdom through the eyes of an adolescent. My idealistic view of the world was polluted, and I knew I would be forever changed.
The king changed the direction of the interrogation, completely throwing me for a loop.
“Kaia, innocent or not, you find yourself in a precarious position.” The King sighed dramatically, propping his head against his meaty fist, clearly bored with this whole ordeal. “As an unmarried woman, you must understand your predicament. As you know, no unclaimed woman can be allowed to live alone. They must have a keeper, for obvious reasons.”
For obvious reasons, my ass.
Truthfully, I was stuck. I knew the laws. Knew that if someone didn’t come forward voluntarily, someone would have been assigned to me, or I would have been forced into service to the elders. No matter the outcome, my life had just been shaken up more than it already had been.
“What can I do? Did Father make arrangements?” I asked with a slight shake in my voice. I hated showing my unease to those men, but there was a feeling of desperation creeping in. “Father had plenty of male acquaintances. Has no one come forward?” I begged. At their silence, I continued, wringing my hands. “How is that possible?”
Under normal circumstances, any number of them would have claimed me out of respect for Father. But no one was going to speak on my behalf. They’d all be too afraid to be marked traitors as well. Such as it was.
“Well,” drawled Councilman Corentin with a cruel smirk. “That’s the thing. No one has. Which leaves you with few options.” His concern was as fake as the hatred in his vomit-green eyes was real. “If you were a child, you could go to the orphanage. But you’re an adult. You poor thing.”
Silence. For several long moments, I stood frozen in front of a dais full of the most powerful men in the world in a room full of deafening silence while they waited for me to grasp that no one would speak up for me.
“Women are such burdensome creatures.” Councilman Corentin cocked his head, giving it a patronizing shake. “Since no males have come forward to claim you, I was kind enough to reach out to a couple unlinked males who may be generous enough to…” His leering gaze traveled from my head to my toes before he finished, “… claim you.”
I gasped, a small plea escaping before I could stop myself.
It would be impossible to hide my lack of magic from a Keeper. My Air Marking was only a facade to protect me. It was Father’s element and powerful enough for rank in our society— Air came second to only Fire. Mother's element, Earth, was at the very bottom of society. She passed away about ten years ago, so only Father knew at this point. He made me promise countless times that no one would know; I’d never even told Liam.
In a desperate world where magic was disappearing, anyone without magic was in danger. People would assume that the Goddess had cursed me or that I was some sort of heretic. People had been killed for less.
My Keeper needed to be someone we trusted, but I couldn’t think of a single decent person who considered themselves friends with Victor. They were just like him— narcissistic, misogynistic pricks. Like most of the males at the capital. No way would they protect me.
Even if I lived, it would be a horrible life.
Father wasn’t supposed to leave yet. He was supposed to see me settled and happy before he left me. He would have found me a partner rather than an overseer. They would be someone I could rely on rather than someone to fear and obey. He would never have forced me into a union that would degrade me or that I didn’t want.
At one time, I’d hoped Liam would claim me. We had discussed approaching Father and asking him to use his influence. All unions needed to be approved by the council. We knew it would be difficult to negotiate— Liam being third in line for the throne, but Father used to be a powerful man with a lot of clout. People listened when he spoke. We hoped he would be able to convince the king.
As a lowly girl from a disgraced family, I stood no chance with Liam. I would have to watch him link with someone else eventually, and that thought just about killed me.
Everything had changed in one night, and I couldn’t keep the horror off my face.
