The King's Cursed Bride

Sentenced to Death

Author's Note: I have an exciting announcement! As of Thursday, SarahRCubitt13 and I have started a monthly Wattpad bookclub on YouTube, called Watt We're Reading. If you're interested in joining us, see the video above and start reading next month's book, so you can participate in a discussion in the comments

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Everything was silent and still. The darkness seemed to smother everything—not only sight but sound.

Two red pinpoints flickered into existence. Carissa caught her breath. What were they? And then the two red dots jerked closer to her.

Her gasp was sharp enough that were it a dagger, it'd have shredded her throat. She stumbled backwards, her heels kicking the candles behind her, and she pressed herself to the wall.

Were those eyes? Did the woman have a Reaper in her room? Or was she the Reaper?

Her heartbeat roared so thunderously she couldn't even hear the Reaper's steps. Was it a four-legged creature? Or did it walk upright? The eyes stopped moving two feet in front of her. They were small, beady, without pupils.

Would the Reaper consume her and leave her for dead? Would Rinka help it dispose of her body? Was she going to be one of those nightwoman that randomly disappeared?

A warm, accented chuckle filled the previously sound-void room. "You see?" The tiny dots rose.

The tension in Carissa's body evaporated on a gusty sigh. She still wasn't sure what those things were, but it seemed that Rinka had lifted the objects higher herself—meaning they couldn't be eyes... unless the eyes had been removed from a Reaper.

"Rinka... what are those?"

More chuckles. "Frightening for first sight, hmm?"

Her blood grew hot, burning away the last dregs of her fear. "Yes, Rinka. Very. Now, are you going to explain or did you simply want to scare me?"

The red dots grew closer as Rinka gathered them in her palm. Though their light wasn't strong, the crimson glow was enough for Carissa to discern Rinka's silhouette from the darkness as her eyes adjusted.

Carissa stepped closer. The red dots were perfectly round and smooth—like marbles. "Glowing jewels?"

"They appear so, but no. These are piece of soul."

Carissa's eyelids fluttered as she tried to grasp Rinka's meaning. Surely with her accent, she'd misheard. "They're pieces of someone's soul?"

"Yes. Reaper took it out."

"Took it out of who?"

Rinka shrugged. "Don't know."

"Where did you find them?"

"In bed in workroom."

Carissa shook her head. This woman was crazy. These were probably some sort of new gems rich men decorated their clothes with, and they'd likely slipped off during the night. "Thank you for your time, Rinka. I should be going." She turned and twisted the doorknob.

The woman harrumphed. "You don't believe?"

Her hand slipped from the knob. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, Rinka, but how do you know? They're likely just jewels."

Rinka fell silent for so long Carissa searched for her outline in the darkness to ensure she was still there. "Not my first sight of these."

"You've seen them before? Where?"