He shook his head. “I don’t know. I do know that poisoning Miss Deja was a distraction. He said that the alpha fairy would save her in time. He was counting on it. I don’t know what he’s distracting you all from, but something else is coming.”
“Is it possible he will attack at the executions?” I inquired, remembering the conversation I was having with my sisters yesterday before all the commotion with Deja happened.
“It’s possible … I don’t know for sure.”
“How are you able to tell us this if he made you sign the blood oath?” I wondered after realizing just how much information he was giving us.
“I’m not sure,” Micah replied. “Once I was put in this cell, it was like I was no longer under his spell.”
“The assassin didn’t need him anymore,” Declan assumed. “He no longer cared if Micah said anything or not. The initiator of the blood oath can break it by using dark magic, which we know he possesses.”
“We can discuss how you know so much about dark magic later,” I mumbled, trying to ease the tension.
I looked up at Declan, who appeared to be extremely calm even though we were just told an attack was coming. I didn’t know what that attack would look like, but it wasn’t going to be pretty either way. I thanked Micah for coming forward with the truth and then I said my goodbyes, not knowing when I would see him next. I was torn between whether he should really be down here in the dungeons or not. He committed the crime and he didn’t deny it, but it was the blood oath that made him do it. I guess the part that was confusing me was I didn’t know if he was telling the truth about trying to fight the urge to stop himself from poisoning Deja. There was no way for us to find out either. After what he did, I couldn’t just take his word for it.
Declan exchanged a few words with the guards before leaving the dungeons, and then he followed me, trying to keep up with my pace. I needed to get to the alphas immediately.
“Slow down, Luna,” Declan said as he reached for my arm, gripping it gently, forcing me to stop.
“We don’t have time,” I told him. “We need to warn the alphas about this.”
“I think you need to get yourself together first,” he said hesitantly. “I think you’re really emotional right now, rightfully so, but you can’t go into your father’s study like that.”
“I’m not emotional, I’m frustrated,” I snarled. “Every time I think we found some answers, more questions come along and remind me that we know nothing. The girls and I talked about the possibility of an attack at the executions when we found out about the poison and our suspicions were right. I need to tell my father, or a lot of people are going to get hurt.”
“Have you thought about what you’re going to tell your father when he asks you where you got this information?” Declan asked as we walked down the council hallway. I hadn’t thought that far. We weren’t given specific instructions to stay away from Micah, but I wasn’t supposed to be down in the dungeons. Even though the girls and I had already figured out the likely target, Micah filled in the gaps for me, and that wouldn’t have happened if Declan and I didn’t go down to see him.
As we came closer to my father’s study, we saw my father and Declan’s father speaking to one another. No doubt they were planning the binding ceremony. They probably didn’t need to plan anything because they were doing it this entire time. They were probably just putting the finishing touches on everything. They’d try to have us bound tomorrow.
“What are you two up to?” my father asked as we approached them. I wasn’t sure if I should say anything in front of Vincent. I wasn’t looking forward to my father lecturing me about being down in the dungeons in front of Vincent either, but I was going to have to accept that it was going to happen and get over it.
“We have a problem,” I said. Declan nodded at Vincent. Their relationship was odd. Declan was the first one to say his father was an asshole, but at the same time he respected him. I couldn’t understand it, but I also wasn’t going to push him to explain it to me.
“Every time you tell me that, I find out that you did something that you shouldn’t,” my father sighed.
“Just look past that part for right now,” I said, my shoulders dropping in defeat before I even said a word of what Micah had just told us.
“Fine,” my father agreed. “What problem do we have now?”
“Micah said the attacks on the castle were just a distraction,” I said, watching his expressions change from curiosity to anger. I knew he wanted to ask me how I got this information, but he was actually following through with what he agreed to. I didn’t think he had it in him to look past the part where I did what I wasn’t supposed to do.
I was able to get through everything Micah had told us without my father interrupting me or lecturing me about being down in the dungeons. He didn’t seem upset with me but he did seem frustrated that something else was put on our plate. We were already having a hard time defending ourselves against the assassin and now we were finding out that he was planning something most likely bigger than any of the other attacks.
My father shook his head. “We don’t have time to deal with this now. We need to get through the executions and then we can figure out how we’re going to find out what the assassin is up to.”
“The castle is being threatened and we’re still going to go through with the executions?” I asked. “He’s going to attack us while we’re all out there.”
“We can’t just stop everything because of a threat,” he explained. “This castle is always being threatened. If we stayed inside and locked the doors every single time, we would never see the light of day. Vincent, can I count on you to inform the rest of the council of what Luna has told us? We need to be ready for anything.”
“Yes, sir.” Vincent nodded. I wasn’t sure if he was the most trustworthy person to deliver the details and not leave some out or add some in for dramatic effect, but my father seemed to think it would be fine. I’d complain about his bad judgment later.
I was forced to focus on the event of the day: the executions. I didn’t agree with my father on this, but I was in enough trouble as it was, and with the executions starting within the hour, I didn’t have time to disobey him.
Declan led me to my room before leaving so he could ready himself for the event. I walked over to my window. Down below, there was one platform that contained an archway with a rope hanging from it, and a black block with an indent in it. Just off to the side of this stood a smaller square platform that contained what looked like a large wooden log in the middle, and hay, tree branches, and smaller logs underneath it. This was the first year I would actually be attending, and it was the one thing I wasn’t in a hurry to get to. My brothers started going when they were twelve, and even though I’d rushed to get to a point where my father respected me as much as he did them, I was completely fine with him looking at me as if I were still a little girl when it came to this.
There would be three different kinds of executions today. The murderers would be beheaded, a quick death. If one of them murdered someone and there was torture involved, or any kind of sexual violence, then they would be hanged, potentially a slower death if their neck didn’t break on the initial drop. For the ones who abused a child physically to the point where they could not walk on their own, or for those who sexually abused a child, they would burn for their crimes. There was no tolerance for child abuse of any kind. Disciplining your child was one thing but breaking their legs and bruising their bodies was a completely different thing entirely, and this generation of alphas would show no mercy.
The moment came when it was time for me to go downstairs and gather with the rest of my family. Dressing in the outfit my mother had made for me, I was actually extremely surprised to find it had pants. Knowing how my mother felt about them, I wasn’t going to argue why something like that slipped her mind. It was a one-piece black suit, with sleeves that hugged my shoulders, and was form fitting through the middle. The lower half was
n’t loose, but it wasn’t skin-tight either. It was made out of some kind of satiny material and was soft to the touch. It was probably one of the most comfortable outfits that my mother had ever had made up for me. I slipped on the black heels that were left next to the mannequin and left the bathroom satisfied with my appearance.
Downstairs in the entryway all the alpha families were gathered. I wasn’t the last one to come down, but I was almost. The only one we were waiting on still was my Aunt Caroline, but she arrived shortly after I did. To my surprise, the girls were wearing similar outfits to my own. We all seemed to be lucky that we didn’t have to show up to these executions wearing dresses – not that the criminals would care.
Not all of the girls wore one-piece pant suits, but we were all wearing black and pants, and that was all that mattered. It was actually rather ridiculous how much it meant to us that we got to wear pants, but when all we ever wore were dresses because we were female, it got annoying, and the idea of wearing pants excited us. No other way to explain it.
The alphas showed up looking pale and worried. I’d witnessed them leaving for Execution Day several times, and never did they look like they could drop to the ground at any moment. Our mothers were pushing themselves in front of all of us so they could confront them, after noticing what everyone else already had. There could be only one reason they looked like that, and the feeling in my gut told me I was right. I had to hear them say it though. I wouldn’t assume like I usually did.
“Theodore,” my mother said so softly it was actually comforting. She touched my father’s cheek and cupped it, waiting for his response. He reached up for her hand, releasing it from his cheek and held it as he spoke.
“We have it on good authority that the assassin will be attacking the execution site,” he said.
“What makes you say that?” my mother asked. “I know he’s been busy these past few days, but what makes you think he would attack an event that is so public?”
“One of his loyalists was found putting something in the tea that was meant to be sent up to my study,” my father told her. “Two of the butlers dragged him to my study and turned him in, which is where we were able to get the information out of him. He wouldn’t give any specifics, but he did say it would be today during the executions.”
“I told you that first!” I snarled at him.
“Not now, Luna,” he snapped back, looking back down at my mother as if he were going to break some more bad news.
“It’s best you all stay inside the castle during the executions,” Uncle Alex said when my father couldn’t find the words to tell my mother what to do. It’s not that she disobeyed him, but she was feisty and able to argue her way out of anything.
“It’s tradition that we attend Execution Day with you,” my mother reminded him. “If we don’t show up, we’re basically telling that monster that we’re afraid of him, and I refuse to give him that satisfaction.”
I had seen my mother put my father in his place several times, and each time I was more in awe of her than the last. I noticed my father crack a smile and I couldn’t help but think this was the side of my mother that my father was completely attracted to. It was the way he was looking at her, like he could take her right then and there on the floor in front of all of us. If there was a purgatory, I was going to it for thinking that.
“Your safety is more important,” my father argued when his trance was over. “It’s not worth the risk.”
“What about the people’s safety?” Aunt Elizabeth stepped in. “They don’t have a castle to hide in with guards surrounding it. We need to show the people we’re not backing down. We’re going with you and so are the children. We will be a united front at these executions.”
There was no arguing with our mothers once they made up their minds. I could tell our fathers wanted to put their feet down on this one, but our mothers gave them this look that put fear in their eyes and they eventually gave up. The councils would kill to know our mothers’ secrets on how they tamed and controlled the alphas. No one else could convince them to do something their minds told them not to do.
According to my brothers, I had the same effect on my father, though I didn’t see it. He told me no every time I asked for something and sometimes it wasn’t even a “yes” or “no” response I was looking for. Plus, had they not seen how my father was treating me the past few days, whether it was my fault or not.
We followed the alphas out of the castle through the front entrance. I walked with the girls in the very back of the group, though the heirs didn’t like this, and they all fell back so they could be behind us. I didn’t mind. If anything, I was glad they were thinking that far ahead. I’m pretty sure we weren’t on the assassin’s radar before we found the cottage, but now that we were, I couldn’t help but feel like there was an added danger to our lives.
Nearing the platforms, my knees shook as I walked. I was going to stumble at any minute, so I grabbed on to Liam, who was thankfully sober. I hadn’t had a chance to talk to him since the other morning in his room. I didn’t go down to dinner last night, and so I wasn’t sure if he was drinking again. He held on to me tightly after seeing what I was looking at, asking no questions, nor did he make fun of me for being terrified.
Chairs had been set up for every member of the alphas’ and the councils’ family members. They circled the two platforms, leaving a small gap so people could enter and find their seats. I looked for Declan, hoping he was close enough to where our family was sitting. I tried not to make it obvious, but the second I saw him I let go of Liam and walked down the first row of red chairs meant for the alphas and their families, sitting in the last red chair next to Declan. He was sitting in a white chair just like the rest of the council members and their families.
Liam sat next to me, and Levi sat on the other side of him. My mother and father were next to them, all of us sitting in front of the shifters. I turned around to see Nova, who smiled at me, almost like she was telling me it was going to be okay. She was just as nervous, but I appreciated that she was trying to be there for me.
Declan held my hand the entire time we waited and didn’t cringe or pull away when I squeezed his hand tighter while the prisoners were brought in, lining up along the platforms. I didn’t want them to turn and look at us. I would never be able to sleep again if I made eye contact with them.
The first thirty minutes we were sitting out there was boring, but I kept my eyes and ears open, so I knew when to look away. A man dressed in black robes was standing on the larger platform, naming off all the prisoners and their crimes and how they would die. Thankfully, only one would burn. I wished none of them would. I wished I wasn’t here at all. I let myself think about it too deeply, the way flesh would smell once the fire started melting it, the torture they would go through before they finally died, and all the eyes that would be watching. It wasn’t just the alphas and the councils that were watching either. The villagers lined up against the iron fence and watched from a distance.
It was silent around the two platforms waiting for the man in the black robes to stop talking. I think most of us just wanted to get it over with so we could go back to pretending like it never happened. Declan made it sound like it would be no more than an hour. I was counting down the minutes already, hoping something would force this man to speed up the process. I was pretty confident he didn’t realize nobody cared about what he had to say. He was rambling on about our society and what we believed in, and how these people in front of us today went against it all. All of them were men. There were several women down in the dungeons for stealing, but it was extremely rare that one was actually sentenced to death. I couldn’t even remember the last time my father mentioned a woman going before them to be executed. There was one last year who was supposed to after murdering her husband, but after further investigation the alphas decided to pardon her because they found proof and collected statements from people in the village who said her husband was abusive and she was just tryin
g to protect her kids. It was even rarer to get a pardon from the alphas. Even if the other person was wrong, there was no excuse for killing. At least, that was the way it was in the eyes of the alphas. She still had to do one year in the dungeons since she did commit a crime, but she was released a few months ago and was now back with her children in their village.
Her situation was the reason executions were done once a year. The alphas sent people out to investigate the crimes, to try to find the true motive behind them to make sure they didn’t wrongfully sentence someone to death.
Declan squeezed my hand slightly tighter, basically telling me the man in the black robes had stopped talking and the executions would begin. My breathing increased even more when a hand had gripped my shoulder from behind. It was Nova, attempting to comfort me again. She was just as nervous as I was, her energy just as off balance, but she was doing a much better job of not showing it. I reached up to my shoulder and she quickly laced her fingers with mine, not letting go until my heart rate had gone down.
Two men wearing black hoods with the eyes cut out brought the first prisoner up to the platform. He was to be executed for murdering his friend at the local tavern. They were both drunk, got in an argument, and somehow it escalated. This man picked up a chair and swung it hard enough to knock his friend over. His friend slammed into the wall, cracking his head open to the point he could not heal on his own, and bled to death on the tavern floor. It was a drunken altercation, but someone still died because of it. The alphas didn’t feel he should suffer in death; his guilt was suffering enough, and so he was to be beheaded instead of hanged. According to Declan, it would be over quickly, but I didn’t care how quick it would be. I refused to watch it happen.
They bent the man down on his knees so that his head was in the small indent of the block. He seemed to be a mess when he first walked into the circle, but now he was calm, almost like he had finally accepted his fate and welcomed it, knowing he had it coming. My eyes widened as the executioner walked to his side carrying an oversized axe. Once more, my chest began moving at a rapid pace and all Declan could do was squeeze my hand, whispering to me that it would all be okay. I believed him, but that didn’t stop my emotions from raging out of control. The second I saw the axe lift above the executioner’s head, I wished I’d never gotten out of bed this morning. Surely, I was too young to be witnessing this. For the first time ever, I actually wanted to be a little kid again. I wanted my parents to protect me from the evil that was out in the world. I wanted to believe every single person was good and would never harm another. I wanted that reality back, not this one that involved watching people die.
Rise of the Assassin (Child of an Alpha Series Book 1) Page 20
