Chapter Thirteen

 

 

 

Laura

 

“You can’t kill Shane. I won’t allow it,” I shout, pounding my fists into my nightstand in anger. It doesn’t do any good, but throwing a knife around my father would be equivalent to suicide, and the only way I know to release my anger is by force.

“Yes, and who are you to stop me?” he says, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.

“He doesn’t deserve it,” I say, pleading with him to spare my friend. “He didn’t want to help Alicia, but he didn’t have a choice.”

“He didn’t have a choice, did he? Do the rebels now possess the power of mind control?”

“No, but—”

“Then he had a choice, and he made the wrong one.”

“They were going to kill his baby sister if he didn’t set Alicia free.”

“He should have let her die, then, if he wanted to live,” my father says with a shrug, “No matter how noble you think Shane’s reasons were, he committed the crime of treason and now he faces the consequences.”

“Father… If you execute Shane, I’ll never forgive you,” I threaten. “I used to think you were a good man, but if you execute Shane for protecting someone he loves, you’re heartless.”

“Hate me all you want, Laura. I have a law to uphold, and I won’t show mercy. You’ve become weak because of this boy. His death will do you good. It will make you cold again.”

“I don’t care what you do. I will never become like you,” I spit. No matter how hateful my words, they will not penetrate my father’s icy heart.

But… There is one bargaining chip that I have.

My future.

My destiny.

My right to the throne.

If I threaten to renounce my claim as Karkonia’s heir, Father will have no choice but to listen to whatever I have to say. He has no one left to succeed him if I am out of the picture. Alicia has betrayed us and Eight is far too naïve to rule a country. I am his prodigy, his handpicked successor.

“That’s too bad. You’ll never be a good empress if that’s the case.”

“I’ll never be empress at all if you don’t free Shane,” I say, my voice shaky.

A part of me thinks that this is stupid, throwing away my crown for someone who betrayed me. But a bigger part of me knows that regardless of the consequences, this is the right thing to do.

“What on earth are you talking about, Laura?” my father snaps, growing irritated with this argument.

“I’ll renounce my claim to the throne if you kill him. It isn’t right, and if you want me to become empress one day, you’ll let him go,” I threaten, glaring at him, golden stare upon golden stare.

Instead of responding, my father laughs, the sound eerie and cruel, stinging my ears. “You’ll renounce the throne, will you? You’ll give up your future for a boy who deserves to die for his crimes?”

“Yes.”

“No, you won’t. Do you know why your brother renounced the crown? Because I wanted him to. He wouldn’t be a strong heir, so I convinced him to give up his claim years ago. You have been chosen to be the empress of Karkonia since your childhood, and you cannot renounce your position. I still believe that you are the most capable of carrying on my legacy and building a Karkonian empire that will become the most powerful nation in the world. I will not let you renounce your claim.”

“That’s not your choice!”

“Laura, everything is my choice. I am the Emperor. My word is law. And if you dare defy it, you will suffer the consequences too,” he says.

“Fine. Beat me. Torture me. I don’t care. I won’t apologize for doing what is right.”

My father seems to ponder this for a moment when a sinister smile creeps across his face. “For having the audacity to come up against me, you will be the one to execute your friend. That’s what reward you get for doing what you believe is right. You will murder someone you care about.”

My eyes widen and my jaw drops. I… He wants me… I’m supposed to execute Shane? How?

“You can’t be serious,” I say slowly, but I don’t register the sound of my own voice. I’m in shock, but I know that my father isn’t kidding. This is his word. He won’t take it back.

“I’m completely serious. I’m sure now you’re glad you decided to defend Shane, aren’t you? At least now he can die by the hand of someone who cares for him,” he says, giving me a harsh glare as he exits my room, slamming the door in anger.

I am left behind, sinking to my knees, eyes wide with terror as I crumple to the ground. My father wants me to execute Shane? No. Never. I won’t do it. I’ll refuse.

But what harm will befall the both of us if I don’t? I don’t want to know what tortures Shane and I would endure if I were to refuse my father. Alicia’s beaten body would pale in comparison to whatever he would have for us.

The more he values a person, the more severe their punishment. I could endure the torture. I’m strong and determined. I’d survive and one day he’d grow tired of the game and kill me. But I couldn’t put Shane through that. I’d make his death more painful, along with risking the lives of everyone he’s ever loved.

I can’t do that to him, but I can’t let him die, either. There is no good option. I will have to find a way to free him and get him to safety.

As I think and plan and scheme, my room begins to feel suffocating. I hurry out of the palace, jumping from trees to ground to trees until I am over the wall again. Once beneath my fortress of trees surrounding the other side of the wall, I sink to my knees and cry, buried under the weight of all that has happened tonight. My sister was freed but at the expense of Shane’s life. And I couldn’t save him. I have nothing to trade for his life. There is nothing I can do.

Tears flow down my pale cheeks furiously, and embarrassed, I bury my face in my knees so that no nearby guards can hear me sob. How can this be happening? If only I could wake up and learn that this was just a nightmare, horrible and heartbreaking, but unreal.

“Laura? Is that your name?” a female voice whispers suddenly, coming from somewhere inside the forest.

“Who’s there?” I return, half convinced that tonight’s events have driven me insane and I’m just hearing things. I don’t see anyone that could be speaking to me, but it’s dark and the trees are dense. It is possible that someone is there.

“My name’s Taeler. I’m here to help. Just come into the forest, straight ahead of you,” the voice says and I recognize the name instantly. Taeler, Shane’s friend. A rebel.

“No? How do I know that I can trust you?”

“I know someone who can help Shane. Just hurry up, or we’re going to get caught,” Taeler says. I look harder into the forest, and I see a faint outline of her body, crouched behind a thick tree.

I don’t trust her. I have nothing other than Shane’s word telling me that she’s an okay person. But if she can help Shane, I have no choice but to hear her out. Wiping my eyes, I stand and walk toward the tree she’s hiding behind. Taeler stands to greet me, stretching out her hand to shake mine.

“Look, I know you don’t have any reason to believe me, but I’ve been hanging out here all night since you caught us and I know Shane’s going to be executed. I also know that the stupid asshole Fernando is the one who turned him in and not you. Why is that? Why didn’t you tell?” Taeler says, raising her eyebrows at me.

“Shane was just doing what he had to. He needed to help his sister. I couldn’t hold that against him, so I told him I’d help get Lainey to the palace and protect him. But I failed. I tried to bargain with my father. I threatened to renounce my claim to the throne, but he just laughed at me. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“You tried to give up the crown for Shane? Why would you do that?” she says, truly astonished.

“He’s my friend, and he doesn’t deserve to die,” I whisper, tears filling my eyes again. I won’t be able to kill him, I know that now. I care too much.

“Good. Glad you feel that way, because we’re gonna get him out of there.”

“We?”

“Yeah, Alicia and I. Help me fix her up, and we’re gonna save Shane. She has a plan. If I take you to her, do you swear that you will not kill her and let her go free after we’ve saved Shane?” Taeler asks.

“I swear, no harm will befall either of you as long as you get Shane out of the palace alive,” I say.

“Good, then let’s get to it.” She grins and hurries off into the forest. I follow behind her, struggling to keep up with her after all of the running and climbing I’ve done today.

We run forever, it seems like, and finally, when I am almost breathless and my limbs ache for me to stop, we arrive at the cabin in the woods. Of course this is where Alicia would be hiding while she recovers—close to the palace, but not known to most of the people in it. If I hadn’t been so distracted by this flood of emotion, I would have realized our destination sooner.

Taeler, who doesn’t appear to be very tired at all, pulls a small flashlight from her pocket and shines it into the old cabin, which is already dimly lit by a few candles sitting in the living room. Now that I can finally see the cabin’s interior for what it is, I am captivated by its humble beauty, the remnants of a place once filled with splendor. An expensive looking blue couch and matching loveseat sit toward the back of the room, both covered with crocheted doilies, yellowed with their age. Cobwebs cover most of the furniture, but its beauty shines through the dust, a memory of what this place used to be.

“Alicia’s resting in the bed, one room over,” Taeler says as I take in the scenery, drawing me out of my momentary trance. I follow behind her quietly, now frightened of facing my injured sister, ashamed of getting so many people that I care for into this mess.

“Alicia, we’re here!” Taeler sings, skipping into the room that Alicia’s resting in. Although it is still in questionable condition, it’s much cleaner than the living room, and the bed that Alicia is lying on seems to have almost no dust or debris on it. When I look down at my feet, I discover a few white sheets on the floor, which must have been covering the bed to leave it in such good condition.

Seeing my sister in the light of the candles is a sight that fills every inch of me with horror and sadness. Most of her body is black and blue, and she’s covered with cuts and scrapes to go along with her bruises. A white washcloth spotted with red rests on her forehead, keeping her cool, and she’s been changed out of her old clothes and into a clean, large T-shirt that probably came from my brother.

“Alicia, I am so sorry,” I whisper, sitting down on the bed next to her as gently as I can. Tears flow from my eyes again, and I put my face in my hands so that no one will see me cry, even if they will hear it.

My sister gently puts a hand on my back and I look down at her with tear-filled eyes. She gives me a weak smile, and pats my back a few times before she lays her hand back down on the bed, careful not to cause herself any more pain. “I shouldn’t have lied to you. Besides, you let me go. I’d say we’re even.”

“I’ll come back tomorrow with painkillers, bandages and Eight,” I say quietly, still horrified every time I look at her. I did this. This is all my fault.

“Thanks. That’ll be great. I’ve dealt with pain before, Laura. I’ll be fine in a day or so, I just need to rest. Taeler doesn’t think anything’s broken, just badly bruised. I’ll be fine,” she says. I nod.

“Good. Taeler says that you’re going to help Shane. What can I do? I tried the only thing I could think of—”

“She tried to renounce the crown for him,” Taeler intercedes, smiling. “Your sister isn’t half bad, Alicia. Pretty brave.”

“I know.” Alicia smiles, and I look at my feet. I’m not brave, I’m a monster, and I destroy everything that I touch. If not for me, Alicia would be fine and Shane would be free. I did this.

“Don’t waste time bragging about me, just tell me how I can help Shane,” I say quickly, changing the subject.

“First of all, do everything you can to delay Shane’s execution. Talk to Ryan. Ask him to give you a day or two to prepare yourself to say goodbye or something like that. He’s a nice guy. He’ll convince Father to oblige you. That will give us time to get Shane out. I’m going to warn you now. It might look like we’re not going to show up, but we have to wait until the opportune moment to free him, even if it’s the very last second that we can. Trust us. We have Shane’s best interests in mind,” Alicia says.

“Okay, I’ll talk to Ryan. And I do trust you. But this is one time you can’t let me down,” I say, still worried that this won’t work.

How are two girls, one of them badly injured, going to free Shane within a day’s time? I have no idea, but I have no choice but to trust them. It is Shane’s only chance.

“I won’t, Laura. I have never meant to let you down. I’m sorry that I have,” Alicia says, reaching up and twirling my black hair around her fingers, something she always used to do when I was little.

I should push her away, should avoid giving in to my heart anymore, but instead, I allow my sister to comfort me. Maybe she’s been right about Father this whole time, and it’s just taken me a long time to realize what a cruel man he really is.

“It’s okay, Alicia. I need to head back now before Dad figures out I’m gone. After the fight we had tonight, I don’t think he’s going to be very thrilled if he discovers that I left the palace,” I say, sighing. “Rest up and I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Okay. Goodnight, Laura. Don’t worry. It’s all going to be okay,” Alicia says.

“I know,” I say, waving goodbye to my sister as I exit the cabin.

As much as I want to believe my sister, as much as I wish that I could trust her to save Shane, I can’t be sure that she won’t fail. This time, I cannot afford to allow her to let me down. I need to have a plan of my own in case hers falls through.

But what can I do? Father knows that I care for Shane, and he will likely have guards watching me until Shane is executed, to ensure that I don’t help him escape.

Suddenly it dawns on me. There is one thing that is more valuable to my father than anything, and that is my future. I can’t renounce the crown, because as of now, my father controls every aspect of my life. But if I’m dead, he loses that power. He loses his chance at raising someone to rule this land from coast to coast.

The last card I have in this game is my own life. And if I play it at just the right moment, in just the right circumstance, I will win, and Shane will be free. I’ve spent every moment of my life blindly listening to my father, hurting people and destroying lives. But I will do something good with my last moment. I will save Shane’s life.