Heath's Redemption

Chapter Three

There were many words to describe King Heath. 

Intimidating. Young. Powerful. Scary.  

Yet the only word that crossed Emily's mind was 'Cruel'.

As she made eye contact with the man who would so thoughtlessly cause her death, she couldn't help but feel saddened about the feelings he gave her. An invisible lifeline was humming strongly between them and it puzzled her. 

He was effortlessly handsome, his piercing green eyes peered into her soul with a scrutinizing gaze. Sharp facial features and high cheekbones decorated his face, along with full lips and a five o'clock shadow. He looked to be a couple of years older than her yet the experienced look in his eyes showed how mature he truly was. The man wore royal robes over a soldier-like uniform with shiny buttons as he sat lazily in the tall and proud throne. His black hair was disheveled as a huge crown sat crookedly upon his head. His body language was relaxed yet you could feel the power rolling off of this man in waves. Even by his reclined posture, you could still tell that muscles lined his entire body. It was almost as if he could snap a man's neck with the flick of his royal wrist. 

His eyes narrowed slightly when Emily meekly looked at him. It was almost as if he knew what she felt, and if he did he was sure good at hiding it. 

Emily couldn't help but feel a tinge of the euphoric feeling once again. She was embarrassed to already feel this way about a man that was bad mouthing her relative and village not too long ago. 

But then she realized something. King Heath had said that Reed killed his mate. In the Kingdom that was punishment by death no matter who you were. 

Yet if he already had a mate in the past, why was she feeling this way?

Almost as if the King had the same thoughts, he immediately drew back, straightened his posture, and broke away eye contact. His eyes pulled up an unbreakable wall, letting no one in. 

"Take her to the dungeon. I don't want to see her fucking face." He snarled in disgust, and Emily could feel her world come crashing down. Her fate was decided. With no strength to pull herself up from the floor, the warriors roughly assisted her, grabbing her under the arms and pulling her along. 

All feeling within Emily was gone, all she could feel was heartbreak. Heartbreak for her mother who was now gone. Heartbreak for her siblings who now had to be raised by someone else. Heartbreak for herself, who was ever so unwanted. 

Leading her away from the throne room and down into a long winding stairwell, torches lit the way. It was almost as if it got colder with each step down. 

"Here you go. Make yourself at home." One warrior said as they threw her into a cell decorated with nothing but a small window. Three of the walls were made up of thick bars that were thicker than her wrist. The last wall was layers of stone, leaving a small window with bars cemented across it as a tease of the outside world. 

Hearing their footsteps retreat back toward the stairwell, Emily cowered into the far corner of the cell. She wrapped her arms around her legs, hoping this was all just a bad dream. She hoped that she would wake up in her bedroom, with the twins, and her mother would be outside getting ready to go to the market. 

Tears filled her eyes once again, rushing down her cheeks and dropping onto her dirty sleep clothes from the night before. 

She didn't understand why she was even in this situation. Why did Reed murder King Heath's mate? Why did the Rogues attack them? Why couldn't she just go home to her siblings? Why did the man who was supposed to make everything okay look at her with such disgust?