Chapter Twenty-three
When I awoke, everything hurt. My head throbbed, and my joints ached. A buzzing sound resonated in my ears. Disoriented, I climbed to my knees and scraped them along stone flooring. I cast about my surroundings.
I lived; why not kill me outright? I crawled over to the wooden door once more, my knees and stomach protesting the entire time. My body trembled, and I rested both hands against the rough wood of the door.
Voices murmured outside my door, and I called out. “Hello, is someone out there?”
The voices stopped, and I stayed with my ear pressed against the door, awaiting an answer. The door rattled as a fist came down hard upon it. I lurched back as a gruff voice said, “Shut your mouth in there.”
I dared not press my luck, and I went back to a straw pile in the corner of the room.
I drew my knees up to my chest and stared at a shaft of light coming from the slit window. What was going to happen to me? Stone walls greeted me in all directions. I jumped up, and the room swam. My head pounded, bile rose to my throat, and I emptied the contents of my stomach onto the floor. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Where am I? I thought.
I stumbled over to a rounded wooden door. A shaft of light invaded through a slit window high up in the wall. I clutched it for support as the realization struck me. I was in the tower. If I stood on my tiptoes, I could see the horizon in the distance and gulls sailing on the wind. This proved to be a poor choice because I lost my balance and fell to the ground with a thud.
A bitter taste remained in my mouth, and I did not think it was only bile. Adair gave me something to keep me unconscious. Why put me in the tower? What did Adair have planned for me? Why did he not just kill me? How could I have miscalculated him? He had played us all for fools. Sabine had doubted him the entire time. Too late, I saw all the signs of mistrust in her carefully worded warnings. Damara, too, had warned me. He had blinded me with his charm, and I was no better than any other woman he had seduced. If I ever got out of here, I would find a way to make it up to both of them.
The door opened, and light spilled into my cell. I blinked into it as a barrel-chested guard stomped in.
I attempted to climb to my feet but found myself too weak to do so. I settled upon kneeling.
“My lord, you must help me. The prince has imprisoned me falsely.”
He laughed low in his throat. “Tha’s wha’ they all say.”
He tossed a bowl of broth onto the ground, spilling half its contents.
“Please, if you will not release me, at least let me send a letter to the queen!”
“Murdering traitors don’ get to make demands.” He turned towards the door to leave.
I scrambled to my feet, using the wall to steady my spinning head. “I am not a traitor, I swear! I have not killed anyone!”
He laughed humorlessly and closed the door. I stared into the darkness long after he had gone.
“Murderer?” I asked the empty cell. That was why he had left me alive, to take the blame for his evil deed?
I spent the next couple of days in solitude, except for two times a day when the guards brought my meals. My guards alternately ignored me or, once, a wiry red-haired guard with missing teeth struck me for demanding once more to speak with the queen. I reeled back, my hand pressed to the irritated flesh.
“Shut your damn mouth!” the guard snarled.
I skittered backwards as he made his way towards me with his fist raised. Presumably, having heard the commotion, the barrel-chested guard burst in and grabbed him about the middle before another blow came.
“Don’t stop me, Torello. That sorceress wench needs to learn her place—mocking me, asking me to speak to the queen on her behalf. She knows damn well the queen has been exiled for treason.”
“Enough,” Torello rumbled.
I trembled as they exited, and they continued their argument outside. Adair had covered his tracks well. Anyone who might have come to my defense was gone. I thought I had known despair before now, but that had only been the beginning. I did not even have the energy to weep. I felt numb. My dinner had been spilled during the tussle, and once I recovered my sense, I made do sopping some bread in the dregs of stew left in my bowl.
A week passed. I had no news of what was happening outside my cell. I wondered endlessly and took every opportunity to question my guards. I even learned their schedules, the barrel-chested guard, Torello, was my morning guard and brought my first meal. The second shift alternated between an older man, who would not look me in the eye when he came to take away my chamber pot or leave my supper, and a young man who did a sign of warding before entering my cell.
The guard that struck me, I never saw again. Torello was the only one who would speak to me, and it was on him I focused my efforts.
“When am I to be tried?”
“Don’ know.”
“What is happening outside?” I gestured towards the door. “I assume Adair is king now, but what of Princess Sabine? Is she well? Is she safe? Have any other prisoners been brought in?”
He paused then and regarded me for a long moment. “Queen Sabine is well. As for other prisoners, there are none in the tower but you.”
It was a small relief. Johai had managed to evade capture. That is, if he had not been killed. I must stay positive, I chastised myself. I sank back down on my straw mattress. “Thank you,” I said.
Torello nodded and left with my empty food bowl.
Three days after that, I heard the bells. I could see nothing but the endless blue sky outside my window, but I imagined the sound was for the coronation of Adair and Sabine. He had won.
After that day, I thought about revenge.
I resolved to break free of my prison and have my vengeance upon Adair. How I could do such a thing, I did not know, but it helped to while away the days of imprisonment. I alternately amused myself by sitting near the door of my cell, hoping to catch the guards gossiping, but either they did not gossip or had the forethought not to do so near my cell, or plotting my escape. I would not ask my guards questions any longer. What did they owe me, someone they thought had killed the king?
Once, I tried asking for pen and parchment so I could document what I knew about Adair’s plot and leave it for someone to find. The answer to my request was a resounding no. I counted the days, and I tried not to think about the unknown or about those I cared for and had hurt with my selfish actions. I just hoped they were safe. Though I did not want them to, my thoughts turned to Johai more than once. I wished I could see him just once more to apologize and tell him that, despite everything, I still loved him. My only consolation was that if I died here, at least I would not be the cause of his demise. It was of little comfort. I continued to wait on a trial that had yet to come.
Four weeks had passed by the morning when Torello came in with a washtub.
I stared at it as if it were a foreign object. “What is this for?”
“Yer to wash.”
I blinked at the washtub, at a loss where to start. I felt my tangled hair, which had been long neglected, and looked down to my filthy skin.
“Either you do it yourself, or I will.”
I stood and went to squat beside the basin. “May I have some privacy?”
He sucked his teeth and stepped out, slamming the door behind him. I washed in the cold, cold water, sluicing the worst of the grime from my body. There were no mirrors, no one to tell me how dirty and bedraggled I had become, but I could see the water darken from the dirt coming off my body. I had no comb to untangle the knots in my hair and had to make do with my fingers. Once I was back in the same filthy gown that I had been wearing for the past month, the guard reentered, but he was not alone.
Adair sauntered into the room, his resplendent blue doublet with its silver buttons and crisp lines seemed grossly out of place among the squalor of my cell. I forced myself to stand and glowered at him with every ounce of hatred I could muster.
“Maea, you look??
? well.” He smirked, and I hated myself for loving that smile.
“What do you want from me, Adair?” I snarled.
“Temper, temper. I have never seen this side of you before, Maea, but I will admit I rather like it.”
His words infuriated me, and I cast about for something to strike him with. Perhaps I had gone a bit mad during my long confinement, but I had thought of nothing but seeing him die for too long.
“Now, I would not try anything rash. I am your last hope for salvation.”
“What do you want?” I repeated. My hands balled into fists at my sides.
“Straight to the point, then? Well, you have had a taste of what awaits you if you choose to be against me. I will not stand for those that oppose me to remain in my kingdom.”
“We are all forced to love you or be exiled?”
He smiled. “My people do love me, Maea, and you know that for a fact.”
I would not admit defeat in this. “I will ask again what do you want, Adair.”
“I want you to choose me. I meant what I said before, you are the woman I would have chosen for myself were it my right.”
I wanted to laugh in his face. That Adair had been in another world, a world where I was a naïve girl who would believe his lies. “How dare you say that to me when I know Sabine was always of your choosing. All of this was part of your plan.” I swept my arm, gesturing to the filthy cell.
He moved closer to me, and I recoiled, but he seemed nonplussed. He reached out to take a strand of my damp and messy hair. “Not this, Maea, I had great plans for this country with you by my side, but if you are unwilling to yield to me, I have no choice.”
My body ached to give in to his silky voice, the lips that I knew were soft and inviting, but my head rebelled against it. He had killed his uncle and imprisoned me for the crime. I could never condone such an act, but maybe there was still hope.
“Adair, I cannot condone your actions, but if you admit what you have done, turn away from this path of destruction you have chosen, then I may be willing to reconsider. Before I came to Keisan, before all of this transpired, I saw the death of everyone, and it sprang from your union with Sabine, the son you will have!”
He withdrew. “I know of the prophecy. Maea, you are not the first diviner to prophesize this, and my son will not be our damnation but a savior of nations.”
“You knew all along?”
“I did. Why did you think I desired your abilities so? I needed you. I still need you.”
I pulled away and pressed my back against the wall. He knew this entire time, and he used me. The shock of it cut me deeper than his betrayal. I could have forgiven him had he been ignorant of the truth, but to know and orchestrate the death of thousands willingly; it was monstrous.
“I will not join you in this, Adair. I would rather rot away in this cell.”
His expression closed off, and he retracted the hand he was reaching out to me. “I am sorry to hear that. This is your last chance. I will not show you mercy going forward.”
“I want none of your mercy.”
“So be it.”
He strode to the door and rapped upon it. It swung open, and he exited without a backwards glance. I knew then I had sealed my fate.
The next day two guards came for me. They shackled my ankles and hands before escorting me down the winding tower steps. At the bottom of the tower, one of the guards opened a secret passage down into the servants’ quarters; that way the courtiers would not see me, I assumed. Or perhaps Adair feared I would shout out his guilt as they dragged me to my trial.
We passed a myriad of turns, and despite my resolve to memorize them and somehow plan an escape, I could not. The tunnels were like an endless maze. Eventually, we emerged outside the audience hall.
A pair of guards stood outside, one on each side of the door. They opened them, and I was led like a dog on a leash inside. At the far end of the room, a panel of men sat behind an oak table. At the center sat Adair, a silver crown upon his head. Flanking him to the right and left were Duke Wodell and Duke Magdale and several other men that I recognized by sight but not by name. All of them made up the heads of the twelve Great Houses. Two seats remained empty, and I knew to whom they belonged: Layton and Johai, they were the only dukes not present. At the far end of the table Duke Sixton watched me, a frown creasing his brow.
I avoided his gaze, not wanting to see judgment there. The guards forced me to sit and shackled me to a chair. I sat, eyes downcast, thinking to gain the council’s pity, and perhaps if they played along, they would hear my side of the story.
Adair stood, and I chanced a glance at him. He addressed the men seated beside him in a regal tone.
“My lords, today we bring forth Maea, a daughter of the defamed House of Diranel. She is accused of murdering King Dallin.” Then, turning cold blue eyes on me, he said, “How do you plead?”
I met his impassive gaze. “Not guilty, Your Majesty.”
The men rumbled in protest.
“Your plea is heard and acknowledged. Begin the proceedings,” Adair declared before retaking his seat.
A court scribe stepped forward and explained the proceedings to me. My accusers were to be given the floor first, then once a case was built against me, I would be given time to defend myself, and then those willing to speak would be given a turn. When he finished his speech, he took a seat off to one side, quill in hand, prepared to record the day’s proceedings.
Many spoke against me. It shocked me how many of my patrons numbered among them. People I had thought were Damara’s allies and friends seemed to relish the opportunity to condemn me. All had similar stories of me bewitching Adair and beguiling him with my treacherous nature. They spoke of my family’s history of treachery and, more specifically, my association with two convicted traitors: Damara and Johai. Both had been tried absentee and found guilty. The guards I had spoken to the night of the king’s death placed me at the scene. I bit my tongue and patiently waited my turn. Then they called the final witness.
“Duchess Magdale,” Adair called.
She sauntered onto the floor. I watched her progress, my mouth unabashedly agape. What could she possibly say against me?
“Your Majesty.” She bobbed her head.
“Tell us, in your words, what you have witnessed,” Adair said.
“I met Maea of House Diranel here at court, a vapid little thing. I have witnessed her on several occasions flirting with both the known sorcerer, Johai, and Duke Layton Florett. ” I made a sound of protest. A guard moved forward menacingly, and she continued. “Her consort, Johai, son of Prince Garrison, is infamous in Jerauch. His father deceived the head of one of our Great Houses and took his daughter as his bride in an attempt to overthrow both thrones. Maea told me in confidence that Johai had designs to rule Danhad with her help. The plan was for her to charm you, Your Majesty, gain your trust, kill your uncle, and use you to take the throne.”
“That’s a lie!” I shouted.
“Silence,” Adair cut across me.
I glanced helplessly at the council. Surely they did not believe her… but they all stared at me with harsh glares, except for Duke Magdale; his expression was unreadable.
“Do you deny your connection to the sorcerer Johai? You stayed in my country home with these people, and I discovered you out of bed late at night with this man,” Duke Magdale said.
“No, but he—”
“Enough,” Adair said. “Duchess, continue.”
And she did, weaving lies upon lies, claiming I was a seductress assuming the position of Diranel Diviner with no proof and with the intention of turning Adair from his engagement with Sabine to marry me instead, taking the throne for my own and then for Johai.
She even went so far as to claim that I took Beau as a lover and used him in an attempt to assassination Adair, which had gone awry and resulted in Layton’s injury instead. I tried to protest, but Adair stopped any interruption. It was preposterous, but no one besides me se
emed to think so. When she finished, Adair dismissed her. She bobbed a curtsy and hid a smile as she scurried out.
I had known there was no winning from the beginning, but how could people think this of me?
“May I speak?” I asked.
“What could you possibly have to say in your defense?” Adair said with an air of triumph.
He was right, but I ignored him and rose, summoning what little dignity I had left. I looked over the council. I had one card left yet to play. I took a deep breath.
I stood before them; the shackles at my wrists and ankles clanked together. I looked each man present in the eye in an attempt to impress upon them how serious I felt, but many avoided my gaze as if fearing I might bewitch them. “You can believe what you want about me, but I am no pretender. I am a diviner. There are those among you who I have known, who have experienced what I can do. Can you truly say I am not genuine? Can you see my features passed down among generations of my family and deny it?
“I will not sit here and enumerate the reasons why you should believe me because, in the end, the decision is yours. But heed my warning as a diviner: you bring doom to your own doors and death hovers over this place while the man who killed King Dallin sits upon the throne!” I pointed at Adair.
He returned my glare without a twitch of his brow, as if people accused him of murder daily.
It was all I could do. Tell the truth. This must be the purpose the diviner had charged me with. If I were to die, then let my last words be to save everyone.
“I have seen the future of Danhad and of Neaux, and if the marriage of the king and queen bears a son, that boy will be the herald of death for us all. The son of two crowns will bring forth the destruction of life. Already the creature stirs, waiting for the gateway to be open. Heed my warning.”
I finished, and Adair stared at me with a cold look in his eyes.
“Unfortunately, false accusations and mad ravings will not spare you. I think we have heard enough. We shall put it to a vote. Those in favor of ending this delegation?”
Hands shot in the air among the council, easily over half. I was glad to see Duke Magdale’s was not among them nor was Duke Sixton’s or, surprisingly, Duke Wodell’s. He watched me with that same pensive look he had given me the night we met.
“It’s settled then; we shall discuss and return with our verdict.”
“How is this a fair trial?” Jon Sixton said. Standing, he slammed his hands down upon the table. “She does not even get a proper defense?”
Adair and half the council had risen from their seats.
“Do you come to the defense of a traitor?” Adair asked him.
“When your uncle was on the throne, even the lowest criminals were given a fair trial,” Duke Wodell said in his defense.
Adair glared at the two of them as if seeing them through fresh eyes. “My uncle no longer holds the throne. We have put it to a vote, and the council has decided to end deliberation. Come.” He motioned to the council to leave.
Jon Sixton’s gaze lingered, and I wondered what he could possibly gain from my defense, but he shrugged and followed the other men out.
My heart sank as they filed out, one by one. The guards led me into a small antechamber to wait. My body trembled no matter how hard I tried to stop it. This was it. My fate was to be sealed. I could see no other escape. I wrung my hands and unraveled a loose thread on my gown once my hands began to ache from the tugging. It was the longest wait of my life, but too short a deliberation. They had convened for perhaps ten minutes when the guards led me back into the audience hall and the council reentered. Adair stood before the crowd.
“We have come to a decision.”
I held my breath. My heart pounded audibly in my ears. This was the decisive moment.
“For the murder of King Dallin, Maea of House Diranel is sentenced to… death by beheading at dawn.”