IMPRESS. [Book 1]

Chapter Eighty-Three: Till Death Do Us...

Chapter Eighty-Three: Till Death Do Us...

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Cassandra POV ~

This wasn't right.

It didn't feel right either.

I just couldn't stand here and accept the crown, pretending to be shocked and happy when deep down I wasn't. Neither could I watch Rose accept a deathly fate she far from deserved.

I wasn't going to act like what happened hadn't happened.

I liked winning but not like this, not with a guilty conscience, not when I hadn't played fair. If maybe I had disliked Rose, even the slightest bit, then yes, I would've continued to do the immoral thing and would have betrayed her now, but it sucked... knowing if she was in my position she would do what was right.

Anyone in their right sense would, so it was only right if I did too.

"I'm sorry- I- I- can't do this."

I needed to let them know.

 

"I beg your pardon?" Queen Melisandre snapped on behalf of the majority, appalled and offended by my refusal of the throne.

"I'm sorry I-"...felt like the world was going to eat me up right there and then, and I thought the Queen was going to release her claws and attack me too.

But the dreadful feeling was worth it. It was only right to let them know...

That, if not for me...

Rose would have crossed that finish line first.

Natalya's POV~

Well...

This took quite the anticlimactic turn.

The tension went from zero to a hundred real quick and I could see the steam blowing out of the King and Queen's ears with every passing second.

Surprisingly, whilst we as an audience shuffled uncomfortably on our feet, Zac's council held their own, keeping their cool and calmly checking to see if the authorised scholars had ink to paper, which they found did. Those historians sped away, not wasting a single drop of ink as they wrote about the awkward moment that would, forever, go down in history.

I could tell that each member of the council was internally weeping, certainly wanting to rip their hair out. I'm sure at this point they just wanted the IMPRESS event to end once in for all. I couldn't imagine the stress they had endured during this entire process.