“You cannot do that,” she whispered. For the first time, I saw tears form in the corners of her eyes. “You cannot possibly do that, Branford. I’m a royal…you…you love me…”
“There is nothing royal about you,” I said. “The only fond memory I have of you is spilling my seed on your leg, and taking your purity was transient and meaningless to me. Now tell me where you have hidden my wife.”
Whitney narrowed her eyes again, and she lashed out at me with her shrill voice.
“You wife!” She snorted in disgust. “She is no more your wife than I am a commoner! I am your wife! You just never wanted to admit it! I became your wife that summer when you first took me! She is nothing—nothing! I am your everything! I will carry all of your children, Branford! You know that is how it is supposed to be!”
“You are delusional,” I said with a gruff laugh.
“You would call me delusional? You are the one who is obviously mad! Who else besides a lunatic ignores his duty and marries common trash?”
I flinched as I felt my throat tighten. I gripped my hands into fists as I moved in closer to her.
“You will never speak of Alexandra in such a way again,” I said with absolute certainty. “And I assure you I am quite, quite mad. Tell me where she is.”
“You will not dare harm me,” she whispered, though I could see in her eyes she no longer believed her own words. “We are meant to be together…”
I tilted my head to one side and then ran my hand through my hair. I sighed heavily and rubbed the fingers of my free hand into my eye sockets before I took out my sword, lay it across Whitney’s belly, and slowly cut into first her dress and then her skin. She gasped, tilted her head back and let out a long, anguished wail as she writhed in pain. I sheathed my sword and pried open the cut with my fingers.
“Where is she?” I screamed one final time. The horses started slightly, and Whitney cried out as the ropes were pulled tight, stretching her limbs. She looked up at me in disbelief, anger, and pain.
“She is in Sterling Castle!” Whitney finally cried out through her tears. “She is surrounded by guards, and I hope they have ruined her for you!”
I took a handful of steps close to her and leaned over her face.
“Swear on your life?” I asked.
“Yes!” She growled back up at me. There was no lie in her eyes.
“Good,” I murmured. I rose and called out to the four men who stood at the flanks of the horses with swords in hand. “Now!”
Each man held hi
s sword high before bringing the flat edge down on the horse’s rump. The horses whinnied, stamped, and ran. The ropes tightened, pulled to the very end of each of Whitney’s limbs, and then tore them from her body.
Her screams did not stop for some time as she lay there on the ground, armless and legless. The blood flowed from the holes in her body and into the dry grass of the field. I approached her, and her glassy eyes gazed at me. Blood trickled from the edge of her lips.
“Alexandra is far more than you could have ever been,” I told her though I could not swear her dying torso could comprehend my words. “She is the true royal. You are nothing. You were always nothing to me.”
I turned away and motioned to Erik to bring Romero to me. I quickly stepped up and threw one leg over the saddle before I looked back out to the other men with me in the field. I took a long breath to try to steady myself before I called out to them.
“Parnell! Rylan! We must ride to Sterling! With haste!”
The horses’ hooves pounded against the road, but still we could hear the sound of rock smashing against rock—evidence of Wynton’s devices at work—as we rode away. I turned to look over my shoulder just in time to see one of the large towers crumble into rubble. By this time tomorrow, Hadebrand Castle would be nothing but dust.
*****
As we rode from Hadebrand to Sterling, I could not help but think of the first ride I took with Alexandra. She had clung to me with such insecurity, I could not help but feel the desire to protect her. I had held her close to my chest, silently wishing I had not so much metal between my body and hers. For most of the ride, I thought of taking her body on our wedding night.
And then I had not done so.
I wanted to. It had been my right. I surprised even myself when I did not just slow down and take her anyway, but the look in her eyes made me stop. She had been terrified of me. I knew immediately that I did not want a wife who feared me. I did not want this young, precious girl to dread my presence in our rooms, but rather I wanted her to desire me as I desired her.
Over the next few days, I had thought I was going to lose all semblance of sanity in my unrequited lust. By the time we had actually consummated our marriage, it ended up being one of the most incredible experiences of my life, and each moment with her since then had only increased those thoughts.
I knew I had made the gravest mistakes during our time together, many of which were not even known to my wife. Making war without a full understanding of my enemy’s capabilities had been foolish at best, and that had set the stage for the rest of my downfall. For the first time, I had let my guard down and allowed someone I did not know close to my family—and Alexandra had paid dearly for it. I did not keep Alexandra close to me the one time she needed me to do so. My downfall had been the downfall of my wife as well as all of Silverhelm. Though I thought at the time I was doing what was best for my family and my kingdom, I knew now how wrong I had been.
I wanted to do better—both by Alexandra and my people—but I had no one left to guide me. Camden had tried to make me understand so many times, and I had refused to listen to his advice. He had coddled me, I knew this now, and when I desperately needed him, he was no longer there.