It turns out I can't leave just yet.
The royals want to see me one last time. I'm not quite sure why and I'm not sure if I should be scared.
I sit on my bed next to Fallon, processing what just happened.
They killed my father in front of me.
I killed the wrong person.
Fallon holds me while I weep in silence.
I need him to hold me forever.
A servant drops off a dress. A ball gown, golden and white.
It reminds me of the royal colors. Adrian's suit, the first night we met.
I grudgingly pull it on. I don't have much to pack. I'm leaving behind most of the clothing I brought to the royal grounds in my bag, so I only have the stone, the cream I used to cover my markings, a couple of shirts and pants, and a few knives. I haven't asked Fallon to come with me yet.
The emptiness only goes away when I am with him.
I want him to come with me.
I bid him goodnight as he leads me into the atrium once again.
As I enter, breathing becomes hard. My heart races.
There is a table set in the middle of the room, directly below the skylight. It looks odd in the vast banquet hall.
The King is sitting at the head of the table. He welcomes me and gestures for me to sit directly across from him.
The table is strewn with roses.
At my placemat is a plate, swirling with gold accents. But the plate is not what I focus on. It is what is resting upon it.
My knife.
Without the stone embedded in it, it seems empty, lifeless.
Just like I am.
I pick it up and tuck it into my dress before sitting.
The King speaks first.
"We would like to congratulate you on winning the first Challenge in ten years."
The other royals join in, congratulating and applauding my achievements.
Snakes.
That's what they are.
They killed my father in front of me.
Why did they do it?
Were they sending a message? That if I attacked the royal family again, I'm next?
I need to get out of here.
I eat in silence.
"I am sincerely sorry for what happened to your father." The King says it as though he was not the one who killed him. I nod. I do not force myself to smile.
I'm sick of that.
"Unfortunately, a recent incident in the prison here caused him to be sentenced to death."
He leans back as though he expects me to grovel with him, beg him to tell me what my father could have done that caused him to be killed in front of me.
I nod, keeping my face bland. I knew he would tell me anyway.
"Your father attempted to escape. He killed a prison guard."
I bite my lip.
Of course, he wanted to escape. Because he told me to. He told me to get out of there. I never told him that I wasn't leaving without him. He thought that I was going to abandon him, so—
It's all my fault.
He is dead because of me.
He tried to escape.
What is wrong with me?
I find it hard to swallow and fight the urge to stand up and walk away. I know that is what the king is waiting for me to do. I will not do it. He wants an excuse to have me executed. I am stronger than his son. If left uncontrolled, I could be an issue. A threat to the royals.
I eat my food.
Even though I won the Challenge, I am still under their control. I am leaving so that it will not be the case forever.
I finish my food as quickly as I can. It does not taste as good as it did when I first came here, rather, it tastes bitter and wrong.
Bitter.
Poison.
Shit.
My vision has been ever so fuzzy in the past few minutes. The royals are eating, but keep glancing up at me every few minutes.
They are trying to kill me.
I reach into my pocket and clutch the stone, willing its energy to keep me conscious.
It must be a miracle. My vision clears the slightest bit. I force my eyes to stay fully open, no matter how much my eyelids strain.
The royals are finishing up now.
Harlow stands, pushing his chair in and congratulating me one last time.
I silently thank him.
"If it is not any inconvenience, I am tired from the Challenge today and would love to rest."
The King smiles, which is more like a grimace, and nods. His eyes darken.
I stand up, forcing my body to stay stable. I cannot sway. I cannot fall.
I walk out of the atrium. It is later than I thought. The moon hangs high in the sky.
I am pushing open the door to the guest house when I hear her behind me. I cannot turn in time and the pain comes before the darkness. I see Adela's face while I fall.
YOU ARE READING
A Shattered Dawn
Fantasi"Who would you like to die for tonight?" Acilya Niehdre did everything to survive after she was left on a moving train in the middle of the Celestial realm, Genia. As a half Night Angel, this is not where she belongs, but she forges a life of her ow...
