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I still don’t trust the witch, but maybe we need her. She knows too much.

“And you know that how?” I asked. Cedar took a step back and raised her hands again, a nervous laugh coming from her.

“Whoa, I’m here to help remember?”

“Honesty,” Vesper growled, taking a step forward. “I need it if I’m going to keep her alive. I need to know how to stop them from coming.”

“They won’t stop,” Cedar answered. “They never will. And in return, her father will continue killing them. Unless, of course, this waryoustarted is enough to distract him. One already got in, so it wouldn’t be a surprising conclusion.”

“There has to be something you know that could help us,” I pressed. Panic was rising in me now. If Father knew about these people, Vesper wouldn’t be safe. If I stayed here, and knowing now one of them was already in, I wouldn’t be safe either.

Cedar gave me a pity-filled look.

“Vesper knows how to end it,” she whispered. My eyes shot to her.

“Then do it,” I commanded. “This has to stop. My life?—”

“She’s lying,” Vesper said quickly and took a step toward me.

Lying?The witch might have been cunning but there was nothing to indicate she had spoken a lie.

“You do know it,” she said. “You just don’t want to face it.”

Vesper shot her a glare. Tension skyrocketed and Vesper looked like she was seriously considering ending the witch’s life.

“Tell me what it is,” I begged her. Her jaw clenched, her face conflicted.

“She has to complete the prophecy.”

Vesper didn’t look back at Cedar as she led me away. I was numb, unable to fight her pull. Unwilling to.

Does that mean I have to die?

Vesper

How many live executions have we been through in the past few weeks?

I had lost count. But at some point, after we murdered Aurelia’s handmaiden, it was happening every single day.

It was because of the war. The king used it to exercise power and keep his family in check. After all, what was a war without some bloodshed?

But today was special.

The stage was set as it was every other day. It took over the side garden, with the fountain where Aurelia once had her tantrum hidden behind the large makeshift stage.

Normally, there would be three of the Solei family members or guards kneeling on the creaky wooden stage, but this time there were seven, all of their faces covered with bags. And a few of them were still struggling. Many of them had come to terms with the fact that they were going to die and didn’t struggle by the time they were hoisted up in front of the crowd.

If they had gotten far enough to be tied up on the stage in front of the entire family, there was no going back. Nothing to save them. Rumor had it that the dungeon was filled with traitors. Many of the guards who had come with the familystarted to realize how fucked they were now that the two families were going to war and tried to run.

It never ended well.

Princess Aurelia was slightly in front of me, but close enough that her back brushed across my arm. Our attendance was mandatory. Almost as if it were a reminder that this was happening because of us. And, of course, we needed to show our support. We couldn’t seem ungrateful in front of the king.

Especially Aurelia. She was still on thin ice with her father.

She looked up at the stage with a grim expression. The executions were wearing us all down. But not the king.

He stood tall with his shoulders back and a satisfied smile on his face. He would look over the crowd every so often as his most loyal guards were bringing up the eighth and final person.