145. Condemned
145. Condemned
ALICE
“You want the truth? Fine. I thought I’d take this to my grave,” she begins, her eyes dropping to the floor. “Your father and I had been married for only a few years when it all happened. He had to travel shortly after we bonded to fight in the war against Aladia, and he betrayed me with Liora. She was… a filthy human your father was fated to as a mate, but he wasn’t even decent enough to tell me. I used to think the pain I felt when he was away was just because he was wounded in battle. I cried, worried, for so many nights. But I found out in the cruelest way that the man I loved with everything I had was cheating on me…”
Her words hit me like a punch. So that’s why she can’t stand humans? I really have no words to explain how this is a punch to my gut.
“I told your father about my pregnancy as soon as he returned. He was excited, but something didn’t feel right. He started traveling more often after that… and then your mother showed up at the castle gates…” Elora lets out a humorless laugh and wipes her eyes, which I only now notice are glistening with tears. “I endured his betrayal and held myself together when she showed up here, pregnant, at about the same time as me. I had to stay strong and pick up all my broken pieces because it was more important for our people to have a united kingdom, one that had already suffered so much loss. She stayed here,” she says, looking at Aemon. “Your mother stayed in our kingdom. Your father spent his days with her while my mating mark burned constantly, and my body begged for them to stop.” She touches her neck with her fingertips, and the expression on her face makes me feel a flicker of compassion for her.
Elora sniffles and wipes her face. “When she died, still pregnant with you, they put you in my womb without even considering my feelings.” Her tone turns bitter again, and my chest tightens; this is new information. “Didn’t Myrwen tell you she used magic to place you in my womb? Didn’t she tell you I was bound and chained when it all happened?”
Elora’s words shock me, and I finally understand a bit of her pain. No, I’m not saying she deserves forgiveness, but I get it. I look around, and the same expression is plastered on Alaester’s and Aemon’s faces. This makes everything so much harder.
“She didn’t tell us,” Alaester says, his voice heavy with sadness, “but that doesn’t justify all the injustice done to Aemon.”
“He was a burden I had to carry,” she says with disgust, finally letting her mask slip. “I couldn’t love him.”
“That doesn’t justify continuing the war,” I exploded at last. “You mistreated Aemon, exiled Myrwen so she wouldn’t talk, and manipulated the war with Aladia, all to hold on to your power. How do you sleep at night, you bitch?”
Alaester lets out a low growl but doesn’t stop me. I know he’s as pissed as I am, but he’s letting me vent my anger. For now. Elora glares at me, and her queenly veneer starts to crack. Her eyes glint with something ugly. “You know nothing, human,” she hisses. “Pamyel needed me. Liora was weak, a dreamer who would’ve destroyed everything alongside him! She died too easily.”
“But mates are sacred…” Aemon says, and she gives a humorless smile.
“Your father could never have broken the alliance between our lands to be with the human who was his mate. It would’ve caused more harm than good, and though he was a lovesick fool, he was a king… I saved this kingdom while he played house with her, causing me the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt in my life. I raised Aemon as my own, gave him a prince’s life, even if I wasn’t entirely affectionate. And you, Alaester,” she turns to him, pointing a trembling finger in his direction, “you were my heir. My pride. And now you’re something I don’t even recognize.”
“You’re not my mother anymore,” Alaester says, his voice cold as ice. “You betrayed Pamyel. Betrayed Aemon. Betrayed me. And nearly killed Alice with your lies. It’s over, Elora.”
She laughs, a bitter sound that echoes off the walls. “Over? You think you can just take the throne from me? I am Pamyel. Without me, this kingdom falls.”
“No,” I say, stepping forward again, feeling a sudden surge of courage fill me. “Pamyel is ours. Mine, Aemon’s, and Alaester’s. And the people’s, who you’ve manipulated for years. You confessed, Elora. You just admitted everything. And now, you’re going to pay.”
For a second, I think she’s going to deny it again, but something breaks in her. Her shoulders slump, her face twists into pure hatred. “Yes, I did it all!” she screams, her voice tearing through the air. “I exiled Myrwen because she knew too much. I fueled the war with Aladia because fear keeps the people united. And I’d do it all again, because Pamyel is MY KINGDOM! I suffered and bled for it for centuries! I won’t let you make me think there’s anything wrong with what I did. I did what had to be done.”
The silence that follows is deafening. Aemon is trembling, his anger echoing through our bond, and Alaester looks one second away from tearing her throat out. But it’s me who speaks, my voice steady despite the disgust I feel. “You don’t deserve the air you breathe in this kingdom. You’ve done monstrous, unworthy things for a queen.”
I signal to the guards, who were hesitating at the door, I know they heard everything. “Arrest the Queen Regent Elora,” I order. “Elora Redwood is stripped of her title. She will answer for treason.”
The guards move forward, and Elora lets out a furious scream, trying to break free, but they’re quick. They cuff her hands with silver chains that reek of aconite, and she glares at me, her eyes blazing with hatred. “You’ll destroy everything, human,” she spits as they drag her out. “You’re not a queen. You’re an abomination.”