Of Embers by Amily Cabelaris

Of Embers by Amily Cabelaris

Author:Amily Cabelaris
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
ISBN: 9798635482773
Published: 2020-04-20T04:00:00+00:00


Chapter 21

Scarlet Gown

Ilvara’s gut twists when she sees those first rays of dawn. They begin slowly. First, pale blue light lifts the shadow. Then, orange and yellow mix together to brighten the room. The sky shifts to a violent shade of crimson, streaked with bright pink. It heralds a coming storm, as does the heaviness in the air. How appropriate for a storm to break on this day.

Ilvara’s bare skin is chilled despite the breeze blowing in from the window, damp and warm from the Pond. She has given up jerking at the manacles, shouting for help, praying for deliverance. There is no escape.

Footsteps clomp up the ladder. The trap door creaks open. Tight knots of dread uncoil slightly at the sight of Goldie.

“Good morning,” she says. “I am to ask what you’ve decided.”

“Evelyn Brightwater,” Ilvara says.

Goldie’s mask of professionalism crumples. “Pardon me?”

“That’s her last name. Brightwater. Evelyn Brightwater. I’ve never known.”

Goldie wriggles nervously. “I…I am to ask whether you choose execution or…or—”

“You are her mother, aren’t you? And you knew that she lived. You must have heard that she joined the army. Everyone in the region knows. There aren’t many golden-haired women joining armies around here. So why didn’t you come to see her? She has lived her entire life thinking you were dead.”

Goldie looks away. “They will be expecting me downstairs. Have you made your choice?”

“I found her on the road, you know. She was naked and beaten until her bones broke. She’s covered in scars from what those bandits did. She’ll never have children.”

“None of that was my fault,” Goldie says quietly.

Her own fate is a distant thought. Ilvara can feel her stomach contort, burning with anger. “You knew she was there?” she shouts. “You knew they were raping your daughter, and you did nothing? What kind of demon are you? From what pit of Hades did you crawl out? Evelyn is a beautiful person. She did nothing to deserve those years of torture.”

“I will inform Lord Krassis you’ve decided to be executed,” Goldie says, then slams the door.

Ilvara tries to catch her breath. Her head pounds. She picks up her head to scream, “I raised that girl! I raised her, and she wanted to give her life to fight for me.”

After a stretch of silence, the door opens again. It’s Sylvia.

“I chose marriage, actually,” Ilvara gets out, shaking, but not with fear. “That snake wants me dead because I’m telling her the truth. She threw her own daughter to the wolves.”

“None of that matters to me,” Sylvia says. “I finally get to kill you.”

Ilvara eyes her without moving her head. A long blade glistens in Sylvia’s hand.

“Now, what shall I cut off first? Your fingers or your toes?” A smile stretches across Sylvia’s freckled face.

The trap door slams open. An unfamiliar guard climbs into the room.

“Lord Krassis said yesterday that I could carry out the execution,” Sylvia tells him, voice suddenly small.

“Lord Krassis told me to take Ilvara to him to explain herself,” says the guard. He unlocks the cage door and the manacles, then grabs Ilvara firmly by the wrists.



Download



Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.