We continue to stand as the king stares out at us like he’s judging us, weighing our worth. I can see Jacob scanning the tables, his eyes locking onto mine. Something changes in his gaze, but his expression doesn’t alter, and he quickly looks away, as if worried about drawing attention to me. Eventually, the king nods, which seems to be the signal we’ve been waiting for to sit. Once everyone is seated, the king leans forward on his throne.
“People of Arhaven.” His voice is clear and strong as he addresses us. “A great evil has entered the castle and is infecting us. It’s a sickness, eating through people’s souls and making them betray us. Betray the Great Mother.” He brings his left hand to his chest before raising it briefly above him in the religious gesture of praise to the Great Mother. Quiet muttering fills the room, and many people invoke the gesture of the Mother. “This evil will not be tolerated and will be eradicated from this kingdom.” His eyes sweep over us. “Sacrifices will have to be made. As many of you saw, my own wife had to be killed. She was infected with this evil, and as such, had to be executed before she spread it further.”
Many of the lords and ladies start nodding, making sympathetic noises as he speaks about murdering his wife. I can’t believe they believe the rubbish he’s spewing, he doesn’t even sound the slightest bit sorry that he’s lost his wife. After a pause, the king clears his throat again and the chatter dies down as everyone turns to him expectantly.
“Things are about to change around here,” he announces, his words as hard as his steely eyes as his body language changes. “We must eradicate this evil.” There is a shuffling of feet, and the high priest comes to stand beside the king, his serene mask not doing anything to hide his glee at the situation.
“As such, the high priest and his fellow priests will be patrolling the castle, searching for those who are harbouring this evil. They have the power to issue punishments, including execution if they see fit.” More priests enter the room as he speaks, making the servants who were lining the walls move, herding them into the centre of the room. People look nervous now. The idea that the priests could sentence you for a crime without trial is scary. The king pushes up from his throne and takes a step forward.
“Please know that the people from the mountain tribes are no longer welcome in Arhaven and are now enemies of the kingdom, so they will be killed on sight. Failure to report sightings of them is punishable by death.”
My thoughts immediately go to Tor. Although we’ve only met a handful of times, I have an undeniable pull towards him, like the one I have with Grayson. And Vaeril.
Damn, Clarissa. You need to sort out your feelings. One woman can’t have a connection with more than one man, I internally berate myself, before turning my thoughts back to Tor. He called me by a different name when we were in the courtyard yesterday, he acted like he knew me, not as Clarissa, but someone else. I wish I had gotten the chance to talk to him, but that won’t be possible now. Something in my chest seems to pulse, and I get a weird feeling, like I know he’s okay, safe. I don’t know how I know this, but I’m going to trust that instinct.
More muttering fills the room as people whisper conspiracy theories between each other. The king allows this to go on for much longer than he previously had. Glancing over his shoulder, he makes a small gesture, and the high priest bows his head in acknowledgement and steps up to the front of the platform. The king nods at him before leaning back in his throne.
“There is one further announcement to make before you can enjoy your breakfast.” His voice makes me shudder, and a feeling deep in my gut tells me that this is not going to be good news. “As you know, all our slaves had to be culled yesterday as the evil had infected them.”
He talks about them as if they were cattle and not people, children, who were murdered. My body trembles with rage, and it’s only when a hand lands on mine that I realise I had been moving to stand.