Beguiled (The Fairest Maidens #2) - Jody Hedlund Page 0,74
the power of my beauty to sway him. And now she had strengthened her case of treason against me, demonstrating that I was in league with Mikkel and condemning him in the process.
While I’d anticipated she might hold Mikkel as ransom for Vilmar, I hadn’t expected her threat to kill him. Surely she would relent and only hold him until Vilmar gave himself up? She wouldn’t behead him and risk Scania’s wrath at taking the life of one of their princes, would she?
At my appearance on the grassy knoll, the gathering of mostly noblemen grew silent. They stood on either side of the queen at the center of the bailey. A dozen paces from them was a sight that turned my stomach—a large smooth stone and the executioner, a man holding a double-bladed axe and wearing a black hood that covered his face except for the eye holes.
Farther away, servants stared from the windows and doorways of the thatched huts built against the inner wall. The buildings formed the soldiers’ garrison, stables, smithy, apothecary, and other trades that made the castle self-sufficient.
Along the battlements, soldiers paused in their duties to peer down. I didn’t need to count to know that four stood along the inner rim and four along the outer, in addition to the two in the gatehouse towers. With the half dozen who escorted me, along with others off duty in the nearby garrison, I didn’t hold out much hope of an escape for myself. Nevertheless, I prayed for it for Mikkel and Ruby.
A quick look around told me Ruby wasn’t present in the bailey, and my pulse stumbled, as did my faltering steps. Had I been amiss in my assumption the queen would make her watch me die? Perhaps the queen still had a shred of compassion left for her youngest child. More likely, she was ensuring that Ruby remained safeguarded for her future alchemy needs.
If only we’d been born boys like Ethelbard. As the heir to the throne, he rarely stayed in the same palace as the queen, and he was currently residing in one of the royal country estates near the eastern coast. Though he’d visited Kensington from time to time while growing up, I’d never gotten to know my brother well. From the little I’d learned, he was unlike my mother in just about every way. Perhaps she’d been able to tolerate him because she didn’t feel threatened by him the same way she did with me.
What would he say once he discovered the queen had executed me? I doubted he would oppose her decision. He did everything the queen asked of him without question, just as our father had done.
Mikkel had accused me of following Irontooth without question. Had I done so not only with Irontooth but also with the queen? Perhaps I’d lived for so long trying to please my mother and gain her affection that I’d closed my eyes to her evil ways, hadn’t allowed myself to see what she was truly capable of doing until it was too late.
The guards ushered me in front of the queen, who stood regally, as beautiful as always. Attired in a gown of fine gold, she shimmered in the sunshine. I understood now why she didn’t accept Mikkel’s offer of an alliance—she would soon have gold and no longer need any other country’s aid. She would be powerful and wealthy enough on her own.
Lifting my chin, I stood unmoving before her. She waited, expecting me to kneel before her as I normally did. However, this time I wouldn’t allow myself to care whether I pleased her or not. I held myself rigid and forced myself not to cower under her sharp gaze.
She nodded toward the castle garden at the rear of the keep. “Your beloved is arriving to watch.”
I drew in a sharp breath at the sight of two soldiers leading Mikkel, gagged and bound, onto the green. They shoved him to a post, swiftly looped his arms overhead to a hook, and then sliced open his shirt, rendering his back bare. One of the soldiers held a scourge covered in bits of bone and rock. I shuddered, praying Gregor and the outcasts would strike before Mikkel had to suffer.
Just as soon as I lifted the prayer heavenward, the queen nodded at the soldier with the whip. He braced his feet, lifted the leather strip, and brought it down against Mikkel, the whistle and ensuing slap echoing in the air.