Emily
I stood hidden in the shadows of the doorway, paralyzed by a terror so thick it felt like ice in my veins. What was I witnessing? The King had just ordered the slaughter of his entire kitchen staff simply because a single person had poisoned his food.
I knew I needed to turn around, to run back to my room before he noticed me and ordered my execution too—but my legs refused to move.
“My King, I swear I didn’t poison your food!” Mary, the head maid, sobbed hysterically from the floor. “Mercy, sire! Have mercy!”
“I do not grant mercy to those who threaten my life,” Kael’s harsh, grating voice boomed through the hall, thick with blood and agony. “It is better to execute you all than to make the mistake of pardoning a traitor.”
My hand flew to my mouth to stifle a gasp. Monster. He
