Dina has inherited her mother's gift and can make people feel shameful about their deepest secrets with just a single look. But with this gift also comes great responsibility and loneliness. Only very few people can look a Shamer in the eye and over...
"I told her..." Rose whispered under her breath as the men bound their hands. "I told her not to tell him where we were." Dina didn't hear her, and maybe it was for the better, because if she realised that Rose had told her mother where they had gone, it probably wouldn't have put her in a better mood. And being pulled off towards the castle - things weren't looking good. At least now she would get to be there when the big plan was carried out as she had wanted. Dina's face was covered so no one could look her in the eyes and she kept tripping as they walked over the uneven cobblestone of Dunark's streets.
"Don't strangle her! Drakan wants her alive." One of the guards said. "For now." The crowd around them started growing thicker and even Dina noticed it. The closer they got to the castle, the louder it got and more and more elbows and shoulders kept hitting her as they pushed through.
"Look!" A woman shouted almost right next to them. "They've captured the daughter of the witch!"
"Shit. Now we'll never get through." Another one of the Dragon men said. The words 'witch daughter' ran through the crowds and travelled a lot faster than the girls and their capturers.
"Devil spawn!" Someone cried.
"She's only a child..." another one said closer by. As the soldiers began forcing their way through by pushing people with their shields and spear handles, something gross and sticky hit Dina in the back of her head. It smelled like rotten fruit.
"Rose!" Dina called desperately.
"I'm right here!" She responded but they were slowly getting seperated by the many people. "We're almost at the gate!" She called, but her guard yanked her ropes and she almost fell over. Suddenly one of the soldiers had enough and picked Dina up to throw her over his shoulder, but as soon as he let go for even a second, she got her hands to her face and started pulling on the bag that she had over her head. The guard told her to stop squirming when he got her on his shoulder, but she kept pulling although doing it more discreetly this time. She finally got it over her mouth so she could at least breathe better, but she still couldn't see. And so she only recognised the Arsenal square by the sound of water in the Ravens fountain. She had expected it to be even louder when they entered the square. More than a thousand people had gathered inside the castle gate to oversee the execution by dragons. And Dina felt the crowd even though she couldn't see them. But they were dead silent. The only sound was one voice. Her mothers.
"Look inside," she said, and though it took endless amounts of strength to reach that many people, she sounded unstrained and like she was standing right next to all of them. She was blindfolded, so all she had was her voice. "Look at yourselves. Is this right? Is it good and honest? I have only done my duty and told the truth. Has truth become such a stranger to you all that it must cost me my life?" Suddenly, Dina's guards were frozen in their steps and she was half put - and half jumped down to the ground. No one was holding her anymore and she tore off the bag and was finally able to see.
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