refusal wasn’t unexpected. “Then we shall meet in the Boarshead Hunting Grounds by All Saints’ Day. There we shall make an even exchange.” The royal hunting lodge was located in northern Warwick within the section of Inglewood Forest I’d hunted in often with my father. Though it had been several years since I’d gone, I still knew the area well.
The queen didn’t reply. Even if she gave me her word, she’d proven she wasn’t trustworthy. I had the feeling she’d find an excuse for keeping Ruby no matter what I did. And no doubt, now that I’d alerted the queen to my suspicion of Aurora being in Inglewood Forest, she’d send more guards there to find Aurora before we did.
Even if she increased her efforts, she couldn’t afford to spurn my offer, just in case I could locate Aurora where all others had failed. At least, that’s what I was counting on.
“Have your soldiers position me at the stone table.” I guessed once that happened, Gregor and the outcasts would finally strike. “When the onslaught begins, have everyone take cover so that no one dies today.”
Before I could move away, she gripped my arm, digging her fingers in to my flesh. “You might be of use to me as a daughter after all. Do not let me down.”
I wanted to tell her I wasn’t doing this for her. That I was no longer her daughter. And that I didn’t care if I let her down. But I bit back the bitterness. It would do no good to spew it. Instead, I looked her full in the face and forced the words I knew I must say. “You have never loved me and likely never will. But I forgive you nevertheless.”
With that, I turned away, allowing the guards to lead me toward the stone table and praying that when my friends attacked, she wouldn’t change her mind and kill me after all.
Chapter
24
Mikkel
My back burned as though it had been set on fire. However, the pain in my heart was worse than in my body. I couldn’t bear seeing Pearl and knowing that within moments she’d lay her head down on the stone and the executioner would end her life.
As I’d languished in the barren tower room, I’d done little else but plot and pray. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been able to find a way out of the trap the queen had laid for us.
When the guards had brought me down to the castle green and stripped me of my shirt, I guessed then that the queen intended to use me to subdue Pearl. I wanted to implore Pearl to remain strong and not give in to any demands, but the queen had apparently anticipated that and gagged me.
Now as I hung from the whipping post, misery mingled with the pain and I bent my head. If I happened to survive, I didn’t want to become the next king of Scania. I didn’t deserve it, not after I’d failed to save the woman I loved. Vilmar was the better man after all.
No, I had to stop comparing myself to Vilmar. Hadn’t I learned that already in my Testing? To stop judging others, even myself? I might not be able to easily win people over the way Vilmar could. But perhaps a king was stronger if he didn’t worry about pleasing people and instead lived by a higher code of honor.
As the guards led Pearl toward the executioner’s stone, she struggled against them. I expected the queen to motion toward me and demand additional lashing for Pearl’s lack of cooperation. But she didn’t bother to glance my direction, almost as if she’d forgotten I was there.
I twisted my hands, working to loosen the binding. From the moment the guard had looped my hands to the hook, I’d realized his knot wasn’t secure. He’d probably assumed I’d be in too much pain to attempt to free myself. And though just the one lash had torn the flesh from my back, I forced myself to concentrate on the knot.
Fortunately, the guard was distracted by Pearl’s angst, and I worked faster, slipping my hands up and jostling the binding, loosening it even more. When the guard glanced at me, I ceased, then resumed my efforts as his attention shifted away.
The knights shoved Pearl to her knees and forced her to lower her head. Desperate now, I tugged one hand free, my pulse spurting forward with the need to do something. My sights narrowed upon the belt of