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Clarissa

T he tunnel dragged on ahead of me, seemingly unending, until a pinprick of sunlight appeared at the end.

The chains wrapped around my ankles and wrists clanged together as the two guards on either side of me forced me down the path.

I stared at the back of Azura’s head, her gray locks tucked into a tight bun, her gold dress flowing behind her.

I looked down at my own gown. The once-white fabric was now littered with dirt and small rips lining the beautiful lace. I couldn’t believe this time yesterday I was getting ready for my wedding. That all seemed so trivial now, so…distant.

The lives of my family and friends hung in the balance. Mother, Rose, Leo, Nox. Thorne . The lives of my people. Of those who relied on me to come home. What was going to happen to them?

I tripped over a rock in the tunnel, staggering forward before I caught myself on the guard’s shoulder. Azura turned her neck with a raised eyebrow.

I licked my dry lips. “Azura, please,” I croaked. “Please let my family go. They had nothing to do with this.”

“They will each be given a fair trial,” she said dismissively.

I scoffed, which sounded more like a cough. “Oh, like I was?”

She trailed her gaze down my body as we kept walking. “ You killed our king in front of hundreds of people. This is as fair as the law gets, Clarissa.”

“You actually think you’re doing the right thing, don’t you?

” I shook my head, and my limp curls brushed over my chest. “For the fiftieth time, I didn’t kill him, Azura.

It was his curse . The one you seem so intent on ignoring.

And all these accusations of treason? Of my empire plotting against yours?

I wouldn’t have come over here to create an alliance if I wanted war. I would have brought an army .”

The guards tightened their hold on me, and I tugged at my restraints as I asked, “Are you so blinded by power and hatred that you won’t see reason?”

She abruptly stopped moving, causing the guards and me to almost run into her. “Leave us,” she snapped at them. With a skeptical glance, they both let go of me and sauntered farther down the path.

Azura lowered her voice. “ I am doing what is best for this kingdom. You and I both know that boy would have run Mysthelm into the ground. We need someone who has the strength to put ourselves first, not bow to some foreigner.” She took a step closer.

“You may have seduced my son, but make no mistake: you Veridians are all the same. And I will see you hang before I kneel at your feet.”

I sighed as my shoulders dropped under the weight of my chains. “You were never going to accept me, were you? You were never going to let this marriage happen.”

“I certainly did my best to stop it.” She straightened her spine and stepped back. “I didn’t necessarily want Galen to die, but the Fates had other plans.”

A laugh escaped me. She had no idea .

“You think this is funny?”

“No,” I responded, meeting her gaze. “I think this is sad. That your prejudice against an entire empire of people has made you so calloused. Thorne will never forgive you for this. You may get the throne you always wanted, but you’re going to lose everything you’ve ever loved.”

Her stare blazed through me. “Love is a myth, Clarissa,” she hissed. “It will always fail you in the end.”

She grabbed my chains with her free hand and led me forward, out of the opening of the tunnel and into the bright afternoon sun.

The light blinded me after sitting in the dark cell for so long.

I winced and lifted an arm to cover my eyes.

Another guard came from the side, tugging my restraints and making me stumble in the dirt.

The sound of a crowd reached my ears, and when we turned a corner, a raised platform in front of a large audience came into view.

On the platform stood an elevated beam with a single noose swinging from the top.

The world faded around me.

I saw Mother, Rose, and Leo on the opposite side of the platform, but it was as if I were watching from outside my body. Watching as Leo thrashed against the three guards holding him back, as Rose gritted her teeth and tried to push forward, as my mother stared at me, lips parted and chest heaving.

I turned my head slowly to take in the crowd, their blended shouts both demanding my execution and begging for my release.

The wooden steps groaned as the guards guided me up the side of the platform.

I barely felt the boards beneath my feet.

The sounds grew distant and fuzzy, while the violent pumping of blood through my heart filled my ears.

As if my body knew what was coming and was pushing itself to the extreme to keep me alive.

My limbs went cold as the noose grew closer.

Azura stood with the head of the King’s Guard at the edge of the platform, reading off the list of my crimes. The words buzzed in my ear.

Murder, treason, plotting against the crown. All the lies I’d heard before.

The other guard stopped me once we reached the center. He pulled at the rope until it hung eye-level, then gripped my head and fastened the noose around my neck. Its frayed length scratched my sensitive skin.

The shouts of the crowd grew louder. I spared one last glance at my family as my legs trembled and my vision wavered.

I love you , I mouthed to them.

The guard backed away, and for a split second, all noise ceased. A light breeze kissed my skin, ruffling the skirt of my dress. The faint floral scent of the gardens nearby tickled my nose. Something that smelled like marigolds.

The rope grew taut as its hold tightened. I could feel the pulse at my neck pounding against it.

I took one last deep breath.

Then many things happened all at once.

From the center of the crowd staggered Isabella Grimaldi, no wheelchair in sight and looking more clear-headed than I’d ever seen her. She raised a hand holding a bloody rag and pointed it at Azura Reaux.

“ You !” she cried.

“Now!” Azura commanded.

The platform at my feet disappeared. My body fell, caught at the neck by the rope digging like a hundred knives into my skin.

“ We’re not done with you yet, ” the voice of the first Fate echoed in my mind.

As I choked and swung, suspended in the air, I concentrated on moving my wrists behind my back.

My vision began to gray at the edges, the pressure in my head feeling as if it would pop.

I tugged on the cursed marigold that I’d shoved between the fabric of my sleeves until my fingers closed around the stem.

The tiniest, almost indiscernible kernel of power spread through my veins.

My eyes were drawn forward by someone screaming my name. Thorne burst through the front of the crowd, lunging toward the platform.

I met his blue gaze.

With my final breath, I shifted.