The warden turned on his feet and exited the cell, locking it behind him, nothing but the sound of his heavy footsteps marching away.
And with those few words, her death loomed.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Thanos stormed into the throne room, clutching the scroll signed by the king – the abominable document which contained Ceres’s execution orders. His heart was thundering against his ribs as his feet pounded the white marble floor beneath them, rage churning through him from head to toe.
Thanos had always thought this room was spacious beyond reason, the arched ceilings ridiculously high, the distance from the massive bronze door to the two thrones at the end nothing but wasted space. Or tainted space. The throne room was the place where all rules were forged, and to Thanos, this was where all the inequality originated.
Advisors and dignitaries sat between red marble pillars on intricately carved wooden seats on either side of the room, twirling their golden rings, wearing their fine apparel, proudly displaying colored sashes, which ranked them according to their importance.
The sun shone in through stained-glass windows, blinding him every few steps, but that didn’t prevent him from glaring at the king who sat on his golden seat at the end of the room. Soon, Thanos stood at the bottom of the staircase below the thrones. He hurled the execution order at the feet of the king and queen, who were at the moment speaking with the minister of trade.
“I demand you recant this execution order at once!” Thanos said.
The king looked up with exhausted eyes.
“You shall wait your turn, nephew.”
“There is no time. Ceres is to be executed on the morrow!” Thanos said.
The king huffed and shooed the minister away. Once the minister had left, the king looked at Thanos.
“Ceres, my weapon-keeper, might I remind you, was thrown in prison by Lucious, and now she is being sentenced to death?” Thanos said.
“Yes, she smote a royal, and that is, by law, punishable by public execution,” the king said.
“Did you know Lucious backhanded her first? And all because she triumphed in a sword fight he demanded?”
“How does this commoner know how to wield a sword?” the queen asked. “It is against the laws of the land to do so.”
The king nodded, and the advisors mumbled in agreement.
“Her father worked as a swordsmith here at the palace,” Thanos said.
“If he taught her how to wield the sword, they should both be executed on the spot,” the queen said.
“How can you be a good swordsmith unless you know how to wield a sword?” Thanos pressed. “Being a swordsmith is not forbidden for a woman.”
“This is not about being a swordsmith, or a swordsman, Thanos. This is about a commoner assaulting a royal on royal grounds,” the king said.
The queen laid a hand over the king’s.
“If I didn’t know Thanos was promised to Stephania, I would think he was taking an interest in this girl,” she said.
“I take no interest in her other than that she is the best weapon-keeper I have had,” Thanos lied.
“Stephania said she had seen you on the palace training ground with…what was the servant girl’s name?” the queen asked.
“Ceres,” Thanos said.
“Yes, Ceres. And Stephania said you held her arm.”
“The girl doesn’t have a home, and so I offered her to stay in the southern summer cottage for the time being,” Thanos said.
“And who gave you that authority?” the queen asked.
“You know as well as I do that it used to be my parents’ cottage, and it hasn’t been used since they passed away,” Thanos said.
“Stephania is a bright young lady with dignity and integrity, and she says she doesn’t trust this strange girl. Has Ceres any credentials? Any official papers? She could be an assassin working for the rebellion for all we know,” the queen said, working herself into a tizzy.
“Now, dear, let’s not get all carried away. Do you really think the rebellion would send a female assassin?” the king said.
“Perhaps not,” the queen replied. “Or perhaps they would, thinking a gullible young prince like Thanos would fall for a feisty warrior woman who sides with him against his family.”
“No matter. The girl has her sentence, and to protect Lucious’s honor, it will be carried through,” the king said.
“You didn’t think of protecting him when you sent him to compete in the Killings!” Thanos said.
The king scooted forward to the edge of his seat and pointed at Thanos, his eyes darkened with ire.
“Boy, you live in our palace and at the mercy and generosity of the queen and me. Do you really mean to defy us yet again?” he asked.
Thanos pointed to the Empire’s banner to the right of the king.
“Freedom and justice to every citizen!” he bellowed, his voice echoing through the room. “The responsibility of the country’s leaders is to protect the freedom of the people and to rule in justice. This is not justice.”
“Stop with this nonsense,” the king said. “The decision is final, and no amount of begging or senseless reasoning from you will change that.”
“Then you must also imprison and sentence Lucious to death for what he did,” Thanos said.
“Although I would not mourn the loss of Lucious for one solitary second, I will follow the laws of this land,” the king said. “And if you interfere with my decision in any way, you will be expelled from court. Now leave so I can use my time on matters of importance.”
Fuming, Thanos turned on his heels and tore out of the throne room, his pulse in his ears.
After he had marched back outside to the practice arena, he picked up a longsword. He went at a dummy long and hard, until there was nothing left but the wooden beam holding it, and then he hacked away at that, too.
Standing with the sword in his hands, he stood frozen as he panted for a long while, and then he flung the weapon as far as he could into the palace gardens.
How could the king possibly say he was serving justice? he wondered. Justice would mean every person had the same rights, privileges, and punishments, and Thanos knew that wasn’t the case in the least.
He walked to the gazebo and slumped on a bench, his temple resting against his hands.
Ceres – what was it with her? Why did he need her the way he needed air? She had come into his life a breath of fresh air, her green eyes sparkling with wonder, her pale pink lips speaking words he knew he would never tire of, a quiet strength in her lithe body laced with vulnerability. She wasn’t like the girls at court who would babble on about mindless subjects and gossip about others only to make themselves look better. Ceres had a depth to her, and every part of her was genuine, not a speck of pretentiousness to be found. And it was as if she saw what he needed even before he knew it himself – a sixth sense perhaps?
He stood up and paced back and forth in the gazebo for several minutes, wondering what to do.
When they had stood below the Stade, awaiting the Killings, he had asked her if he could trust her with his life. She had said yes. And although her voice had faltered with the answer, he knew she would sacrifice herself to save him if it ever came to that.
If he saved her, he would be kicked out of the palace. If he left her to her fate, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself.
He pulled his shoulders back and took a deep breath.
He knew what he needed to do.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Although her eyes and limbs were heavy, Ceres, despite her exhaustion, hadn’t slept a wink all night. The heavens were slowly lightening, she could see from the small barred window, and how she wished they wouldn’t. With morning came her last few moments, and in less than an hour, she knew, she would be dead.
“Are you afraid?” Apollo asked, his head resting in her lap as she stroked his blond hair.
She looked at him and thought of lying. But she couldn’t.