Chapter 4
I thrashed against the ropes, blood roaring in my ears. “Take my blood, Ronan–tale mine! just leave the children out of this!TM
Ronan stood over me, eyes colder than steel. “Now you care about the children? After everything I warned you, and still you tried to curse Annabelle’s
My babies were soon brought in–still feverish, red–faced, their tiny limbs twitching in distress. Behind them care Beatrice, soaked from head to toe,
her voice frantic.
“My lord, please! They’re burning with fever–if the bloodletting continues, it’ll kill them!”
Even Ronan paused at the sight of their flushed cheeks. A flicker of hesitation crossed his features.
Must it be the blood of the children?”
My heart seized with hope. I tore free from the guards and collapsed to my knees before him and Annabelle.
“Please. I’ll do anything. Punish me, corse me, bleed me dry–just don’t harm them!
I began slamming my forehead to the stone floor, again and again, until warm blood slicked the marble beneath me.
Ronan’s brows furrowed. Even Annabelle’s tearful pleas to proceed were momentarily silenced
He raised his hand, about to speak
But the so–called priest beside him gave a chilling laugh. “Spare me your theatrics. This woman poisoned her own children to fake an illness. Typical witchery.”
He drew a silver needle and jabbed it into one of the twins‘ fingers. The blood that bubbled forth was black.
Bonan’s fury Ignited. He kicked me so hard I felt something crack. “I knew it. Venom in your veins, just like your soul.”
He grabbed a black lacquered jar from the priest. Inside, iridescent parasitic worms writhed, hungry and unnatural.
“If you enjoy tormenting children so much, let’s see how you like it.
The creatures were poured onto the open wounds left by the ermine’s earlier attack. They burrowed into my flesh.
The pain was indescribable. I screamed like an animal, writhing in filth and blood as my body convulsed
Blood trickled from my nose, ears, and mouth.
Only when the creatures were sated did they crawl out again, slithering into the cracks between the flagstones. Ronan loomed over my crappled body. “Do you finally admit your guilt?”
I turned my bead toward the twins, barely breathing
“Please… let the physician see them.”
Each word cost me a mouthful of blood.
The priest scoffed: “The lever will pass. It’s the herbs wearing off. She’s manipulating you!
Ronan said nothing for a long time. Then, as if searching for a reason—he pointed at me. “And her?” “Mild skin trauma. The worms are ceremonial, not fatal,” the priest replied, glancing at Anabelle. Runar waved a band. “Taker back Luck her up. Watch her day and night.”
The twins had long since stopped crying Their tiny bodies were limp, burning with silent fever.
I tried to crawl toward them. “My babies…. my
Annabelle gently cradled one of them in her anus and tuned to me with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“Ah, poor things. It’s hardly surprising, given the care they’ve received. Should the lever leave them dull–witted, it’ll be a tragedy–but not unexpected one.”
Then, in a soft and sweet voice, she said, “But I’m not as heartless as you. I can’t stand to
Tcouldn’t even lift a finger now. She wanted me to watch them die.
low
to see them sulfer. So I’ll let you take care of them, him?“
Terror took root in my chest. I tried to scream, but my throat was choked with blood and only a horse rasp came out.
She ordered the guards, all in her sugary voice. “Take her away.
My lord,” she added over her shoulder, “I believe she’s learned her lesson. She’ll take good care of the children now.”
We were thrown into a locked room. The babies” breath grew fainter.
I laughed bitterly, a sound torn from a throat full of pain.
Why? I hadn’t fought her. I’d let her have everything. And still this was where I ended up.
Just when I thought all was lost, the window creaked open.
The Queen Dowager’s covert guards climbed through, faces pale with shock.
They quickly fed potions to me and the children, then whisked us away into the night
The day of the christening banquet arrived, Ronan personally clasped a silver pendant around Annabelle’s son’s neck–the heir’s locket.
In the ornate case sat two more pendants.
He frowned. “Where is Lady Eleanor?Still too weak to attend?”
“Today, the House names its heir by law. Her children are expected to show deference–it’s a matter of lineage and rightful succession”
He sent a guard to summon her.
As he rubbed the two untouched lockets between his fingers, he pondered Eleanor’s future.
Eleanor’s children would be duly recorded as legitimate heirs in the family’s chronicle.
As for Eleanor herself, she would be confined to her chambers for a time, to reflect upon her errors. Only when she showed true repentance would she be permitted to see her children again.
Just then, the doors burst open. A guard ran in, pale as death.
“My lord–something terrible has happened!”
Honen didn’t even look up. “Another tantrum? Tell her if she wants to stay in this house, she’d better stop with these games.”
The guard fell to his knees, voice shaking.
“My lord… there’ll be no more messages. Lady Eleanor and the children they’re dead.”
Chapter 4
