Till Death Do Us Part

20. The Point of No Return

Skylar's hands were bound with rope, and the two guards dragged her after the Queen. They left the bloody corpse of the King behind. She found it especially cruel, abandoning him there as if he were a thing that could be discarded when no longer needed.

When they entered the main ballroom, the Queen gestured to the musicians to stop playing. The careless chatter and laughs died down, and consternation and silence spread like waves as they moved toward the end of the room where two thrones for the King and Queen were erected. 

And then, anxious whispers and cries erupted when the nobles realised what they were seeing.

The Queen made a spectacle of trying to wipe her tears and finding her voice, while the guards holding Skylar in mercilessly hard grip had their jaws clenched, looking down at her with a burning hatred.

"My dearest friends! Something terrible has happened," Elinora announced. Her voice was rough and shaking but at the same time loud enough to echo through a vast chamber. "King Alarat has been brutally murdered!" A desperate sob escaped her lips, and she clasped a hand over her mouth.

The room exploded with panicked shouts of disbelief and angry roars. All eyes in the room turned to Skylar, and she felt the hatred emanating from them like a heatwave. She struggled to get free, but the guards kept their hold firm.

The Queen raised her hands to silence the crowd.

"This unexpected tragedy hit us all hard but rest assured that I will not let the murderer of my beloved husband walk free!" She gestured dramatically at Skylar. "It breaks my heart to say it, but we let the viper into our midst. We greeted her with open arms and treated her as one of us while she plotted this despicable crime!"

There were more furious shouts, and the crowd rippled when people tried to move closer to get a better look at her. The mob loved spectacles. When the people gathered and were riled up, they lost the mind of their own and changed into one angry entity, hungry for blood. 

My blood thought Skylar in panic.

"What is the meaning of this?" a cold and commanding voice pierced through the clamour. The people started to part to make way for someone.

Skylar didn't have to raise her head to know the voice or the confident footsteps. She longed and dreaded to see Gawyn at the same time. There was no way he would manage to get her out of this situation. Not when the whole kingdom has already condemned her. She bit her lip and tried to hold the tears threatening to spill.

"Lord General," the Queen said with a voice full of pity. "I'm sure it must be a shock for you. To find out it was your wife who murdered your brother."

Gawyn, followed by four soldiers of his personal guard, stopped in front of the Queen. Skylar risked a quick look at him. His whole body was tense as a string, his jaw clenched, and his brows knitted. And there was a fire burning in his usually cold grey eyes.

"You are quick to cast accusations. Where is your proof?"

"Why I saw it with my own eyes," the Queen said in a hurtful tone. "But if it's not enough for you, here's the sword that had been thrust into King's heart." She gestured to the guard, who stepped forward holding a still bloody sword in both hands. "It's a beautiful blade—one of a kind. You were the one who gifted it to your wife, were you not? Such a shame she used your good intention for her despicable schemes!"

Skylar couldn't bear listening to it any longer. 

"She's lying!" she yelled, but before she managed to shout anything else, one of the guards punched her in the stomach, making her double over and gasp for breath.