The Shadowglass (The Bone Witch #3) - Rin Chupeco Page 0,85

the lands outweighs your duty to those you call friends, those you call allies. The world must burn in order to heal. Do you still find yourself worthy, Tea of the Embers? Do you still accept this responsibility?”

I knew then that she told the truth. Already I had ruined lives. Already I had imagined Kion burning. “Yes,” I choked out, still weeping and cradling my burnt hand.

Polaire vanished, and the rest of Kion with her. I stood inside the dark cave once more, but this time only two paths remained open to me, their passages yawning into night. But my wound remained, and I had to bite my lip against the throbbing pain.

Now Honor lay to the left, with Love on the right.

Trembling, I stepped into the left passageway once more. There was another spark of light, so blinding I had to cover my eyes with my uninjured hand.

“It is time.”

I gasped. King Kance stood before me, his hand held out for me, smiling gently.

“Kance? Your Majesty?” I took his hand. He was warm, solid, and reassuring. “What are you—?”

He tucked my arm underneath his. “They’re waiting for us, Lady Tea. Let’s not be late.”

“Waiting for what?”

“For your execution, Tea.” Kance’s smile was soft, but it held an edge of malice. “Or have you forgotten? All the spells in the world cannot make up for your sins. Surely you didn’t think you would be allowed to live after everything you’ve done? You killed Polaire. You ruined my father. Everything you touch bleeds sorrow and misery.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“Intention amounts to nothing in this place.”

He pushed open a door that had not been there before, and we stood before the gardens of the Odalian palace. A scaffold had been set up at its center, surrounded by a cheering crowd. On the platform stood a hooded executioner. The ax in his hands gleamed in the sunlight, though the blade’s edge was already dark with blood.

I took a step back, but Kance’s grip was steel, forcing me forward. The cheers turned to jeering as he ushered me up the wooden steps. Desperate, I glanced around, searching for a friendly face, for someone to protest and fight for me, but I saw only contempt and accusation.

“You should know by now that everything has a price, Tea. Contrite as you are, you still caused Daisy’s death. You still caused the blight. Imagine the countless lives we could save after you are gone. Now, kneel. No blindfold, I think. You deserve to die with your eyes open, seeing true justice done.”

“Wait,” I choked. “If I die, then Fox—Fox will—”

“You have no need to worry.” Kance pointed, and I saw a lifeless body nearby, matted with blood and grime.

I screamed, bolting out of his grip to reach for Fox, though there was nothing I could do to save him. “Oh, he’ll be all right,” Kance chuckled, hauling me back roughly. “He was dead to start with. But he’ll need a better body than the one you gave him.”

My knees buckled. Gently, as if he were an attentive lover, Kance guided my head onto the chopping block.

“Honor must be answered for, dearest Tea. Honor outweighs your reputation. Already you are called a villain, and for good reason—you have brought chaos into my kingdom with your petty desires, and you must answer for your crimes.”

He lifted my hair and pushed it to the side, exposing the back of my neck to the blade. I could feel the edge of the ax, sharp and ready, as it came to rest against my skin. “Do you still find yourself worthy, Tea of the Embers?” Kance asked, his tone cruel. “Do you still accept?”

I closed my eyes, tears leaking onto the block. “Yes,” I sobbed. I deserved to die, didn’t I? Daisy, Telemaine, Polaire, Fox—

The ax fell with a whoosh, and I found myself on my knees on the cave’s cold stone floor, my body heaving with sobs. “No more,” I cried. “No more!”

But there was one more path to take.

I fled, running away from that terrible stone and the horrors that lay beyond it. Except I found myself turned and standing before the marker. I tried to escape again, only to return to the place I was desperate to avoid. I would be running within this mountain until I faced its trial.

“No more,” I wept, though there was no choice before me.

This time, no one greeted me. A long, winding corridor took the place of the cavern, which had transformed into