BK1 Chapter One, Part One

Chapter One, Part One

Life changes fast.

My stomach dropped as I was forcefully pushed to the ground. Rain-soaked my torn dress, sticking it to my skin as my hands scraped against the wet pavement. I turned my head, glaring at the man who revelled in my pitiful state. Then, with his red hair falling before his dull brown eyes, Garret Asher leaned in close and gripped my chin.

"Now you look at me with such passion?" he sneered as if accomplishing his goal.

"It's more than you deserve, husband," I spat back before he yanked me up by the chains dangling from my wrists.

"Ha, you never even used my name, Lynette," he taunted, dragging me across the gravel pathway in front of his mansion. One of my shoes fell off, exposing my terra-cotta barefoot.

In the centre of his dreary garden stood a wooden platform with a single post looming. Soldiers lined up behind the post, standing tall and stealing glances in our direction as the rain gently pattered on their black armour. Finally, one soldier broke the formation and headed toward us.

The soldier swiftly snatched the chains from my husband's grasp and led me up the platform steps, securing a rope around my waist and tethering me to the post. My arms hung loosely, restrained. The rain clumped my black raven hair together.

"How does it feel to know they all despise you?" Garret asked with genuine curiosity evident in his voice as he approached the stage.

"Not much different from my feelings toward you," I smirked, aware of how it would infuriate him. His hatred for my indifference had grown over the years. Garret couldn't control his temper without an audience, and typically, he would have begun beating me by now, but the presence of the soldier deterred him.

Nevertheless, he didn't hesitate to slap me. The sound echoed through the estate's yard.

"This wouldn't have happened if you had shown me affection. I can still make it go away. Just admit to being guilty of murder, and I'll have you imprisoned instead," Garret whispered, his voice low as he leaned in close to my ear. His warm, clammy breath brushed against my cheek.

I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Oh, husband, do you think so little of me? You have no power to change my sentence any more than you have the power to gain my affection," I sighed, gazing at his foolish face.

Once, I had considered him quite handsome, like many young ladies do. However, after ten years of marriage trapped within his small estate, I had witnessed the darkness lurking within his heart. The bruises and scars on my body were a testament to that.

Yet, I had never imagined he would be cruel enough to frame me for the murder of a distant royal bloodline, no less.

How he managed such a feat when I rarely left his estate still baffled me. My trial had left me with more questions than answers. Perhaps my reaction to their accusations had inadvertently solidified my guilt.

Our arranged marriage had been insufferable for both of us, but a divorce would have sufficed, not this.

"Lynette," Garret gritted his teeth, his gaze briefly darting toward the soldiers standing nearby, his hesitation evident.

"Step aside, Baron Asher. The family is here for the last rites," a guard interjected, bowing respectfully. His golden spear stood tall at his side, signifying his position in the royal guard. They seldom appeared during executions, but the murder of a distant member of the royal bloodline warranted an exception, however remote the connection.

They had granted my request for a private execution, a privilege granted by law to those in my situation. I was surprised when they accepted, but the crown had no interest in publicizing the death of their distant relatives, as it would display weakness.

"Tsch," Garret muttered. "Consider this my act of mercy. At least now you won't have to suffer as your soul wastes away." His hand gently caressed my neck, causing me to shudder before he leaned close to my lips. "Goodbye, sweet wife," he whispered, pressing his lips against mine before pulling away.

As usual, I felt nothing in his interactions with me.

Did he believe this was a better death for me? Ha, what thoughtlessness. Though perhaps it might be preferable to wasting away from my disease, I had already endured that once.

"Viscount Heversham," a guard bowed toward the older gentleman approaching the platform. His boots were impeccably polished, and his untouched, slicked-back white hair seemed to repel the raindrops, creating a canopy above him. Father had always been a skilled water summoner.

"Disappointed?" I asked as my adoptive father approached me, his black cane striking the ground. A small water snake curled around it, slithering toward his palm, its body composed of flowing water.

"Surprisingly, I am not," he said, raising an eyebrow as he inspected my bedraggled appearance.

"You speak as though you had hoped for this," I sighed. Although our relationship had its flaws, Roger Heversham was still the man who raised me.

"I didn't know what I had hoped for," he shook his head in contemplation. "I always believed this marriage would be beneficial for you. You were always unruly but murder, Lynette..." He trailed off, narrowing his eyes at me.

"As I've said, Father, I had no involvement," I reiterated my innocence. Viscount Heversham's gaze momentarily flickered toward Garret before returning to me.

"I wish that were true," he stated.

"Don't we all," I sneered, masking the pain in my gut. But of course, he would never believe me. He had never placed much faith in me from the start.

I was nothing more than a weak mortal. A commoner.

"I thought marrying you off to the Baron would help you mature, but this? This is a curse you've brought upon our family. It's by the grace of the gods that Cassandra is no longer here."

"What do you mean you 'sold' me into marriage?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes, attempting to push aside the mention of my adoptive mother.

"I suppose you should know," he sighed. "The Baron had always requested your hand, Lynette."

"Father, what are you saying?" My voice involuntarily rose. "I married the Baron so Kara wouldn't have to. I did it for her," I tightened my lips, holding back the lump forming in my throat.

"Lynette, what I told you was a lie," he paused, witnessing the shock on my face. "When I received the Baron's proposal, I believed the marriage would be what you needed. There were doubts about receiving any other suitable proposals, and he seemed like a good match. But knowing your temperament, I knew you wouldn't accept. So I did what I thought would get you to the altar." Roger Heversham looked away, his wrinkled forehead reflecting his disappointment in my actions.

"So you lied to me," I spoke with little emotion, absorbing the revelation. All this time, my decision to marry the Baron so Kara wouldn't have to had been based on a lie. It wasn't Kara he had requested. It had always been me.

"I did," Roger admitted, his water snake slithering up his arm to wrap around the collar of his tailored jacket. "To convince the Baron not to rescind his offer upon learning this, I sold him an iron mine as part of the marriage."

I couldn't help but glance over at Garret, shifting uncomfortably as he stood near the guards.

So, he married me even knowing I had accepted based on false information and profited from it by acquiring an iron mine?

Garret's frustration with my indifference toward him somewhat made sense now. He might have originally harboured feelings for me, but that wouldn't change the fact that he was still a monster.

"Where is Kara?" I asked, a rush of emotion surging through me at this betrayal.

I had been such a fool.

What would my life have been like without this marriage?

Was Roger Heversham only revealing this now to absolve his own actions? Or was he hoping to inflict further misery upon me?

"She's at the palace as usual. I haven't told her about today's events. I couldn't bear to subject her to such distress," Roger's expression hardened.

"Good," I muttered. It would be difficult to face this knowing Kara was watching.

"Eduard sends his regards."

"I'm sure he does," I replied dryly. My oldest brother had never hidden his dislike for me. I doubted he had much to say.

The guards began to beat their drums, their sound reverberating through the air. I looked up at the gate of Garret Asher's estate and caught sight of the man who would be my executioner.

A silver mask concealed his face, two horns extending slightly above his forehead. Neat spirals adorned them, glinting in the rain. The only visible feature through the gap in his mask were his purple eyes, marking his royal bloodline. His formal armour clanked with each step as he walked past the line of guards, their golden spears held at attention.

Duke Azriel Elkart of the Frozen South. It was my first time seeing the man I had heard the maids gossip about. They claimed he was undefeated in war, his power second only to that of his second cousin, the Empress. He possessed the innate magic of his bloodline, that of the draygon race.

"Is it time already?" Father asked, observing Duke Elkart ascend the stage.

"Yes, Viscount Heversham," Duke Elkart replied, his voice low.

"Very well, then. I shall take my leave." Father bowed respectfully to the general.

As Roger whispered his final words, I followed his movements with my gaze as he moved to stand beside my husband, watching from the sidelines.

That may have been the only moment he showed me any semblance of sincerity.

Now Duke Elkart stood before me. He was taller than I had imagined, his face hidden behind the mask he had worn since childhood. No one knew why he always concealed his face, and it was widely understood not to inquire.

I doubted I would have ever encountered this man if it weren't for the fact that I stood here, accused of murdering his twin nephews.

"Baroness Asher, I am here to carry out the punishment for your crimes. Do you have anything to say before I proceed with the sentence?" the Duke asked formally.

"No, Duke. I have already expressed all I needed to say during my trial," I half-smiled at him. A trial built on lies and deceit.

"Understood," he nodded, picking up the sword handed to him by one of the guards. 

The handle was adorned with intricately intertwined dragons, their eyes shimmering blue diamonds. I recognized it as the sword of dragon's breath, one of the famed swords of power. Well, perhaps this death would not be as pitiful as my previous one if he wielded such a weapon.

"Any final requests?" he inquired, raising the sword high, his eyes briefly glancing at the black veins on my neck.

"Only one: make it quick. I don't want to grant anyone the satisfaction of a slow death," I replied, looking up at the sky as raindrops fell onto my face. Grey clouds veiled the sun, and no birds flew by.

When nothing happened, I redirected my gaze back to the Duke and was surprised to find his eyes locked onto mine.

"Don't worry. If not today, I will die soon," I comforted him unexpectedly, despite the circumstances. The unmistakable signs of my disease likely gave him pause.

"I will make it quick," the Duke nodded, signalling his intent before swinging his sword toward my neck.