“I hope you get all you deserve in this life, dear Pax, which is far more than you think.”
And with those last words from the huntress leader, the women dug their heels into the horses and were gone.
Chapter
4
Princess Aerity stared out from her chamber window that evening at the darkened skies above the royal port. Princess Vixie and Lady Wyneth watched at her side. A massive bonfire had been built outside the west commons and was open to the public. All persons’ hands had been thoroughly checked for lash marks as they entered royal lands, and guards patrolled as far as the eye could see.
Tonight’s spectacle was twofold. People could see the body of the latest creature for themselves and know that their king was capable of keeping them safe. But at the same time the people were watching as their king burned the lists of those who were Lashed, an extreme act that struck fear intraditionalists. The king wanted his people to know that he was trying to appease this madwoman in order to keep his people safe, but Aerity was not expecting peace that night. Her entire being was on high alert.
“We should be down there,” Vixie said. Aerity and Wyneth both shook their heads.
“This is for the people,” Wyneth told her. “And to keep Rozaria from killing again. It is not safe.”
“Since when do you care about your safety, huntress?” A smile of admiration grazed Vixie’s teasing lips. “We heard about how you faced down that monster and made a perfect shot.”
“What I did today . . . I wish I hadn’t been a part of it. And I wish Lord Alvi would not have glamorized my role.” Her voice was so serious that the sisters shared a sad glance and went back to staring out the window in silence.
The princess felt as trapped as she had several months ago when the first beast was on the loose and the royals were ordered to remain in the castle. She’d come to loathe feeling helpless, especially after she’d helped kill the first creature. It didn’t matter that today’s monster had been so swiftly slain, because there were more. Until Rozaria and her like-minded followers were captured, there would always be more.
Hundreds of people gathered around the bonfire, the unnatural creature lifted high on a scaffold beside it. Aerity’s parents watched from the balcony below her window. A line of royal soldiers marched up the cobbled path. Harrison ledthe way, in uniform, carrying several parchment scrolls. The people moved to make way for them. Harrison and the other soldiers climbed the scaffold and stood before the creature’s body. Harrison appeared to be addressing the crowd, holding up the scrolls.
“He was so kind today,” Wyneth whispered. She leaned her forehead against the glass.
“He’s always such a gentleman, isn’t he?” Vixie asked.
“Always,” Aerity agreed.
They watched as Harrison threw the scrolls one by one into the roaring fire. And then the men set to lifting the beast. Before they had a chance to fully stand, the girls heard a muffled scream through the thick windows. All three pressed their faces closer. A small opening in the crowd revealed a woman laid out on the ground, completely still. Another woman leaned over her, screaming, shaking her head. All around her people began to push and run in different directions.
“Deep seas, what’s happening down there?” Aerity asked.
“Is she dead?” Vixie stared down.
Voices rose and the crowd became a frantic mob. As people fell, others trampled.
“No!” Wyneth covered her face.
Aerity watched in horror. The king and queen were ushered from the balcony back inside the castle as guards and soldiers flooded the grounds below. She couldn’t make sense of anything happening below, so she clambered from the window seat and grabbed her skirts, rushing from her chamberswith her sister and cousin close behind.
They ran straight to the king’s office, where she knew her parents would be brought. Moments later they shuffled in with a feeling of high expectancy in the air.
“What in Eurona happened out there?” King Charles asked.
Royals, advisers, and guards all peered around at one another, wearing matching faces of confusion and disappointment. Nobody knew. The king began to pace behind his long desk.
“They will get things under control,” Queen Leighlane tried to assure him, but her lips pursed with worry. The king rubbed his face.
“This is what happens when we take away the people’s stability,” whispered Duke Gulfton, his eyes fervent.
It took only five minutes of waiting, but it felt like the longest five minutes of Aerity’s life before Harrison burst through the door with a paper in his hand. Behind him was another soldier with a young, ragged boy. All three were breathing hard. The boy’s eyes were rimmed in red.
Harrison and the other soldier gave short bows to the king.
“What news?” he asked.
Harrison spoke. “A villager woman was killed, Your Majesty. No signs of a weapon mark, so we can only assume . . .”
