“My sister seeks to take both sides for herself and force you all into slavery beneath her hand! She would see you suffer for standing for what you believe in—for standing behind me, your true queen! She wants to destroy the South until there is nothing left. Well, I say we send my sister a message!” she roared, and the audience roared back. “This afternoon, there will be a reckoning! I will execute these traitors before your very eyes, and we will send their heads to my sister, as payment for the lives she has taken!”
I looked at Ronad in abject horror. “What the—”
“All defectors will be punished in the same manner as these traitors. I will not have dissension in my ranks! If you are not for us, you are against us!” she screamed, her eyes wild.
Armed guards marched forward at this pronouncement, while Gianne took a single step back. They wielded arched scythes and gripped the decorated handles. They seemed like ceremonial blades. I’d never seen a coldblood brandishing one before. As the camera panned closer, the blades bristled an electric shade of blue. I knew that kind of energy, and what it could do.
Each guard took up their position behind a kneeling enemy soldier, tilting the sharp blades of the scythes so they touched the exposed neck of each one. Many of the captured soldiers lifted their heads with pride, gazing out with steady eyes, though I could see the tremble of their lips, giving away their real fear.
“To the victory of the South!” Gianne roared.
As the last word rang out, the armed guards lifted their scythes and brought them down again in a perfectly uniform sweep, the whisper of the blades susurrating through the air before they sliced the heads clean off the prisoners of war. The bright blue electricity that had vibrated so loudly seemed to cauterize the wounds on impact, ensuring no blood spurted out to mar Gianne’s clean gallows.
My hands flew to my mouth in horror as I watched the heads roll. A moment later, the guards picked up each one and dipped them in a bucket of amber liquid beside the gallows. The rest of the coldbloods’ bodies were beginning to blacken, and I knew they would soon turn to ash. The heads, however, were a different story. Whatever the guards had dipped them in, it had prevented the flesh from disintegrating. And now, they were raising each one to the audience, who bellowed their approval.
I felt sick, my stomach churning. Each face wore a different, frozen death mask. Some were terrified, some were stoic, some were crying, and all were dripping with a syrupy, amber substance.
Jareth was right—Queen Gianne really was unstable. In fact, she seemed to be descending rapidly into all-out insanity.
“Did you say this happens every week?” I rasped, my throat tight with shock.
Kaido nodded. “It is essential to ensure the nation remains loyal. There can be no dissension in the ranks, as she said.”
I wanted to shake him by the shoulders and make him see the truth of what was happening, but I’d heard the roar of the audience and knew it was hopeless. Gianne had already brainwashed her people, though I had a feeling it was more through fear than anything else.
If this was how she was treating traitors, I really doubted she’d take kindly to my return, especially if I was caught trying to contact Navan in the North. I doubted Queen Gianne even remembered her promise to pardon Navan. Now, more than ever, she would simply see him as a defector.
I couldn’t believe the Vysanthe I’d returned to. A planet truly torn in half. Where before there had been a fragile peace, with two sisters teetering on the edge of an uneasy truce, now there was nothing but the terrifying reality of war.
And here I was, stuck in the middle of it all.
Ready for the next part of Riley and Navan’s story?
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Venturers!
Continue the journey in Book 5: Traitors, releasing on April 15th, 2018!
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Love,
Bella x
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Read more by Bella Forrest
HOTBLOODS
Hotbloods (Book 1)
Coldbloods (Book 2)
Renegades (Book 3)
Venturers (Book 4)
Traitors (Book 5)
THE GIRL WHO DARED TO THINK
The Girl Who Dared to Think (Book 1)
The Girl Who Dared to Stand (Book 2)
The Girl Who Dared to Descend (Book 3)
The Girl Who Dared to Rise (Book 4)
The Girl Who Dared to Lead (Book 5)
The Girl Who Dared to Endure (Book 6)
THE GENDER GAME
(Completed series)
The Gender Game (Book 1)
The Gender Secret (Book 2)
The Gender Lie (Book 3)
The Gender War (Book 4)
The Gender Fall (Book 5)
The Gender Plan (Book 6)
The Gender End (Book 7)
A SHADE OF VAMPIRE SERIES
Series 1: Derek & Sofia’s story
A Shade of Vampire (Book 1)
A Shade of Blood (Book 2)
A Castle of Sand (Book 3)
A Shadow of Light (Book 4)
A Blaze of Sun (Book 5)
A Gate of Night (Book 6)
A Break of Day (Book 7)
Series 2: Rose & Caleb’s story
A Shade of Novak (Book 8)
A Bond of Blood (Book 9)
A Spell of Time (Book 10)
A Chase of Prey (Book 11)
A Shade of Doubt (Book 12)
A Turn of Tides (Book 13)
A Dawn of Strength (Book 14)
A Fall of Secrets (Book 15)
An End of Night (Book 16)
Series 3: The Shade continues with a new hero…
A Wind of Change (Book 17)
A Trail of Echoes (Book 18)
A Soldier of Shadows (Book 19)
A Hero of Realms (Book 20)
A Vial of Life (Book 21)
A Fork of Paths (Book 22)
A Flight of Souls (Book 23)
A Bridge of Stars (Book 24)
Series 4: A Clan of Novaks
A Clan of Novaks (Book 25)
A World of New (Book 26)
A Web of Lies (Book 27)
A Touch of Truth (Book 28)
An Hour of Need (Book 29)
A Game of Risk (Book 30)
A Twist of Fates (Book 31)
A Day of Glory (Book 32)
Series 5: A Dawn of Guardians
A Dawn of Guardians (Book 33)
A Sword of Chance (Book 34)
A Race of Trials (Book 35)
A King of Shadow (Book 36)
An Empire of Stones (Book 37)
A Power of Old (Book 38)
A Rip of Realms (Book 39)
A Throne of Fire (Book 40)
A Tide of War (Book 41)
Series 6: A Gift of Three
A Gift of Three (Book 42)
A House of Mysteries (Book 43)
A Tangle of Hearts (Book 44)
A Meet of Tribes (Book 45)
A Ride of Peril (Book 46)
A Passage of Threats (Book 47)
A Tip of Balance (Book 48)
A Shield of Glass (Book 49)
A Clash of Storms (Book 50)
Series 7: A Call of Vampires
A Call of Vampires (Book 51)
A Valley of Darkness (Book 52)
A Hunt of Fiends (Book 53)
&n
bsp; A Den of Tricks (Book 54)
A City of Lies (Book 55)
A League of Exiles (Book 56)
A Charge of Allies (Book 57)
A Snare of Vengeance (Book 58)
A SHADE OF DRAGON TRILOGY
A Shade of Dragon 1
A Shade of Dragon 2
A Shade of Dragon 3
A SHADE OF KIEV TRILOGY
A Shade of Kiev 1
A Shade of Kiev 2
A Shade of Kiev 3
THE SECRET OF SPELLSHADOW MANOR
(Completed series)
The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (Book 1)
The Breaker (Book 2)
The Chain (Book 3)
The Keep (Book 4)
The Test (Book 5)
The Spell (Book 6)
BEAUTIFUL MONSTER DUOLOGY
Beautiful Monster 1
Beautiful Monster 2
DETECTIVE ERIN BOND (Adult thriller/mystery)
Lights, Camera, GONE
Write, Edit, KILL
For an updated list of Bella’s books, please visit her website: www.bellaforrest.net
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Hotbloods 4: Venturers Page 35
