The Key (31 page)

Up ahead, the castle gates were open and the street was packed with ci
vilians pouring into the castle’s courtyard. People parted as Darmik and his guard rode through. The mood was quiet and somber. Darmik had been to enough executions to know that either people would behave this way, or they would be violent and take their anger out on the soldiers present. Darmik hoped everyone remained quiet like this. An angry mob was never easy to control, and he had enough going on that he didn’t need to deal with a crowd on top of it all.

The courtyard was divided into different sections.
Three on the left were reserved for the general population, one on the right for the castle workers, and the shaded section in the front was for the nobles and courtiers. The balcony above was prepared for the king and prince—although neither was present yet. Soldiers filtered everyone into their sections, keeping the aisle and the area in front of the gallows clear.

Darmik
led his squad to the area off to the side. The spot gave him a clear view of the balcony, gallows, and the exit gates. He could also easily enter the tunnel hidden thirty feet behind and to the left of their position.

F
ive soldiers stood in front of the gallows, one holding a drum. Darmik nodded to him, and the soldier began tapping, the steady beat echoing throughout the courtyard.

King Barjon and Prince Lennek
walked out onto the balcony. Lennek gave the hand signal to a soldier below, and the soldier pulled open a door on the side of the castle. Rema was brought outside still wearing the brown dress Darmik had last seen her in, the welt on her face covered by dirt. She squinted as she was led toward the gallows, her hands bound behind her.

Darmik remembered seeing Rema run across the field at the governor’s home in Jarko. She had been wearing a brown dress
, and her hair danced in the wind. He had thought she was beautiful and wild. That’s when Nightsky ate from her hand. If only they could go back to that moment in time and erase everything that had happened since then.

Rema flinched with each beat of the drum. D
armik wondered if she didn’t know about the rescue attempt because the fierce determination she usually exuded was gone. For once, she looked like a terrified girl with no hint of royalty to her.

Clutching
Nightsky’s reins, Darmik scanned the surrounding walls. Nothing.

The beat of the drums continued to echo throughout the
courtyard. Darmik’s heart began to race. There was no sign of a rescue. His hands fumbled with Nightsky’s reins.

The soldiers
dragged Rema up the stairs and onto the platform. Her entire body was violently shaking, and she looked ready to collapse.

She stood next to the noose, shaking her head.
This was it, then.

W
here was the rescue attempt? Darmik didn’t think he had the strength to watch her die if he was wrong.

Rema

Lying on the straw mattress
in the dungeon, Rema couldn’t help but think about her imminent death. She always assumed she would die from old age or being thrown from a horse.

She never thought she would be
executed.

It was all her fault.
If she had just been normal with brown hair and brown eyes like everyone else, she never would have attracted Lennek’s attention in the first place, and none of this would have happened. She would still be back home, on the horse farm, with her aunt and uncle. Bren would still be alive. She’d be with Snow. And her river. And her heart wouldn’t be broken.

This royal family had taken everything from her.

And now they were
going to take her life.

Rema’s
biggest regret was the way things ended with Darmik. She had thought she found love, but now it seemed like it was all a sick game between the brothers. If only Darmik had spoken to her one last time, so she could understand. Did he ever love her?

And
she would never see Aunt Maya or Uncle Kar again. She prayed they were safe. That Ellie’s letter reached them in time. At least her death would guarantee their freedom. That was one good thing about dying.

Rema sat
up on the straw mattress and wrapped the blanket tight around her shoulders. Facing death, knowing it was coming, had to be worse than the actual act. At least, that’s what she told herself.

Wiping the tears
away did no good, for more came. Clutching the key around her neck, Rema wished she could kiss her aunt and uncle one last time. How could Lennek treat life like it didn’t mean anything? Did he have no heart at all? Rema blew her nose in the blanket.

Footsteps echoed off the stone walls
, and Rema scooted in the corner of her cell. Two soldiers appeared with several prison guards. She didn’t recognize any of them.

The door open
ed and one of the soldiers entered, holding manacles. Rema considered fighting them, but it would do no good. She was one small girl to a dozen armed men. She didn’t stand a chance. She never did, even from the beginning. Rema stood on shaky legs and held out her wrists.

“Turn around,” he ordered. “Your hands must be bound behind you.” She did as instructed.
He tightened them, the heavy, cold metal digging into her skin.

T
hey exited the cell. When they reached the stairs, Rema didn’t think she had the strength to climb them. A soldier wrapped his arm around her waist, helping her up the steps, shouldering most of her weight.

When they exited the dungeon, the
bright light stung Rema’s eyes. She could barely see and was surprised that a few days in the dark cell did so much damage. She squeezed her eyes shut, frustrated she couldn’t use her hands to shield the light. Not that it really mattered. She’d be dead soon, and she’d never see the light of day again.

Other than the
horrible anticipation, the past week hadn’t been that bad. The straw bed, blankets, and food helped maintain her strength. Rema came to realize that these were small acts of kindness from the castle guards and servants. They must’ve felt sorry for her and wanted to help in whatever capacity they could, or they hated Prince Lennek as much as she did. In either case, Rema was grateful to them all. She just wished she could’ve seen Ellie one last time to say good-bye, but Rema hadn’t seen her since the time right after the trial. She prayed she was safe and not another victim of this royal family.

The soldiers led Rema through the castle
. They stopped at a black door. A small, round window next to the door revealed the gallows on the other side. Rema focused on her feet, unable to look at the wooden platform outside.

She had been out of the dungeon for about twenty minutes now
, and her eyesight was finally getting better. Someone banged on the door from the other side and it swung open. The beat from a drum echoed throughout the courtyard, making Rema’s heart slam into her chest even harder. She felt the sweat trickling down her back.

T
he two soldiers took hold of her arms, leading Rema out of the room and into the courtyard. Thousands of people stood behind the wooden fence barrier, trying to get a glimpse at her. She didn’t look at anyone. Instead, she focused on the path leading to the raised, wooden platform.

W
hen she reached the steps, she stopped. There was no way she could force herself to climb them to her death. The two soldiers dragged her up, her knees slamming into the stairs. Rema yelped in pain, tears streaming down her face.

At the top,
Rema froze. Dead center, a rope hung from an erected upside down “L” shaped piece of wood. The rope swayed in the wind, the end looped in a circle. A section of the floor below the rope was slightly higher than the rest of the platform. That was the section that would drop away, making her feet dangle. Killing her.

The crowd was silent
. What type of person would want to witness a murder? The soldiers pulled her forward, out onto the gallows. Wood creaked with each step they took. Rema was now close enough to the rope to see how thick and strong it was. The soldiers positioned her so she was facing the crowd.

The drums stopped
. Rema glanced out to the people. Darmik had to be here somewhere, but she didn’t see him. She reminded herself to breathe because she was getting dizzy. If she passed out, she was sure Prince Lennek would wait until she was conscious before hanging her. There was no way she could go through this again.

Prince Lennek strolled
onto the stage. He walked straight up to Rema and turned his back to the crowd. “Stupid girl,” he whispered. “I hope Darmik suffers for this.” Then he faced the people. “Anyone who defies me shall pay,” he bellowed. Lennek took the noose and put it around Rema’s neck. His eyes locked with hers. He smiled a cold, evil smile.

“
You churl,” Rema said, hatred dripping from each word.

Prince Lennek tightened the noose
, and she gasped for air. The rough rope dug into her skin. She wanted to tear the noose away from her neck, but her hands were bound behind her back. Panic swelled inside of her. Lennek left the stage.

Rema waited for
the trapdoor to drop, to feel the burn of the rope. The drum beat started back up. This was it then. What were they waiting for? Why didn’t they just do it and get it over with?

Prince
Lennek walked out on the balcony high above the crowd, standing next to the king. The soldiers looked to the prince for the signal.

Rema
wanted the last thing she saw to be of something beautiful. Scanning the crowd, she saw Darmik dressed in full uniform off to the side, atop Nightsky. She focused on the horse—the only connection to her home in this dreadful place. As if sensing her, Nightsky’s head turned toward Rema. She stared into his dark, knowledgeable eyes. Her vision blurred from her tears, but she couldn’t look away.

Lennek
yelled, “Now,” his voice echoing through the courtyard.

The floor beneath her fee
t moaned as it opened up. There were several odd “whooshes” by Rema’s ear.

And then she fell.

Rema’s stomach dropped. She had dove from cliffs enough to know the sensation of falling. This was much the same, only, instead of cool water, her body slammed into something hard. There was an immense amount of pain.

So this
is what death feels like
.

Her world went black.

End of Book 1

First of all, a huge thank you to all of my readers. Your enthusiasm, support and encouragement are amazing! I’m honored to have you not only as my fans, but as my friends.

My two talented critique partners, Karri Thompson and N.W. Harris, you have both been invaluable with offering constructive criticism. I don’t know where I’d be without the two of you!

To my three beautiful, rambunctious children, thank you for going through this journey with me. Your excitement about my characters and imaginary worlds only fuels my desire to keep on writing.

I have an endless amount of gratitude for my personal assistant, Jamie Kimok. How can I ever thank you for your endless work putting together blog tours, managing my events, and keeping me on track! Thank you for all of your hard work, support, and most of all, your friendship.

To everyone at Clean Teen Publishing—thank you for believing in this book and bringing it to life. I would like to especially thank Dyan Brown, Rebecca Gober, Marya Heiman, and Courtney Nuckels. I am proud to be a part of your team. You truly are publishing ninjas! Also, a special thanks to Cynthia Shepp for doing a fantastic job with editing.

There are a few other people that deserve a special thank you: Melissa Lynn Simmons, Mayra Arellano, LC Helder, Dvora Gelfond, Kimi Flores, and Jennifer Murgia. Your advice, support, and help mean the world to me. Thank you for all of your encouragement.  Also, Angelle, Crystal, Rebecca, Debbie, Lisa, and Brooke—you girls help me more than
you’ll every realize! Thank you for spreading the word about my books!

And lastly, to my early beta readers: Allison, Randi, Nicol, Taylor, Kim, Kristi, Emily, and Kris. Thank you for taking the time to read and offer feedback. The Key would not
be what it is today without you.