Page 14 of Her Cruel Redemption

Heat flamed my cheeks, pleasure warming me all the way through as several Yoxvese nearby cast glances and smiles towards me. For a moment, my nerves were forgotten. They liked me. Theyacceptedme. They didn’t see me as a burden or an obstacle.

‘Will you step into the circle, Gwin?’ The Elder continued, stretching a hand towards me with a smile. I rose to my feet, buoyed by that warmth of acceptance, nerves forgotten as I picked my way down the tiers of the amphitheatre to join her in the centre.

‘You have proven yourself deserving of a place among us,’ she said, taking my hands as when I reached her. ‘We would like to offer you a life here as one of us.’

Gratitude swelled my chest. They wanted me to stay. It would be so easy to just thank them now, to return to my seat and be glad I’d found a place for myself where I could be happy.

But I didn’t wat them to accept me on the basis of a lie.

I sought Rhi’s face in the crowd. She raised her brows at me. I released Elder Miera’s hands.

‘I want—’ I began, the words catching. I cleared my throat. ‘I want to thank you for your acceptance. It has meant so much to me to be here.’ I paused. I felt dizzy. Could I really say it? I had to. ‘But my life before the Living Valley is drawing me back and I can’t keep ignoring it,’ I finished lamely. My voice was too quiet to carry far, but Elder Miera heard me.

‘What do you mean, child?’ she asked.

‘I haven’t been entirely honest with you.’ I cleared my throat again. Prayed she wouldn’t hate me. Prayed they all wouldn’t hate me once they knew who I was. ‘My full name is Gwinellyn Daucourt. I’m the rightful heir to the Brimordian throne.’

Some of the warmth in her face cooled as she frowned. ‘I see.’ She glanced towards the crowd, back to where my friends were sitting.

‘They didn’t know,’ I said quickly, realising they were all about to be blamed for my deception. ‘I lied to all of you. I was trying to escape who I was.’ Her gaze stayed turned their way, though, and there was something in the grim turn of her mouth that told me who she’d fixed on. It was an expression she only seemed to save for one person. Elias.Hehad known, ever since he’d woken me and I’d told him why I had to return to Lee Helse. She would guess he had known. When I chanced a glance his way I saw his startled expression. Should I have told him I was going to do this beforehand? I couldn’t. I hadn’t wanted him to try and talk me out of it.

Miera inhaled slowly, and I wished I had magic to read what she was feeling, because her face was guarded. ‘I would like to consult with the other Elders,’ she said slowly, ‘I don’t wish to rescind our offer, but first I must ensure that sentiment is shared by all.’

‘Please, before you do, there’s something I need to say to you. To all of you.’ I raised my voice, turned my gaze on the crowd now. I could feel my pulse thudding in my temples and my fingers began to tingle, buzzing with an energy I’d come to recognise all too well. With a jolt of panic, I tried to calm myself. I focused on trying to keep my breathing steady, on calming my racing heart. I needed to get this right. Too much depended on it for me to fail. ‘I know the pain my people have caused. I know they've hunted you, demonized you, forced you into hiding. They've taken your homes, your loved ones, and left scars that can never fully heal. I know what the crown represents to you. I know whatIrepresent to you.’Breathe,I reminded myself. I had to keep my voice steady. I had to keep that tingling in my fingers at bay. ‘But while I’ve hidden the truth of my name, I have never hidden my heart. What you’ve given me, this acceptance, this place, it’s more than I ever had in the world I came from. I’ve come to love the Living Valley more deeply than I’ve ever loved my own home. The friendships I’ve made here mean more to me than any title or crown I could claim. I stand before you now because I’d never forgive myself for staying silent. I can’t ignore who I am any longer, and I can’t ignore what I owe to you. I want to reclaim my birthright and the throne of Brimordia because when I am queen, I want to put an end to the blood trade.’

The muttering the broke out around the amphitheatre this time was louder, an aural tapestry of whispered questions and thoughts and maybe suspicions. I spotted Rhi again. She looked wary as she surveyed those around her. Anxiety constricted my chest, making it difficult to breathe.

‘And how are you planning on doing that?’ Elder Miera said, and the scepticism in her voice chilled me. Because it was so familiar.Stupid girl.

‘I want to go,’ I began, but I had to gasp, feeling breathless, like there wasn’t enough oxygen around me. ‘I want to go to Oceatold. I’ll rally support and start a… start a…’ My vision blurred for a moment. A flicker, like a flash of light at the edge of my vision, made my heart lurch. No. Not now. I dug my fingernails into my palms, trying to anchor myself. Those dim, shifting balls of light above felt too bright, the whisper of the wind too loud. My pulse raced, the blood roaring in my ears. The ground shifted beneath me, but no one else seemed to notice.

‘I... I am asking you... I need your help to…’ I forced the words out, but they were slipping away, dissolving on my tongue. My body hummed with that familiar, terrible sensation. But I couldn’t push back the rising tide in my head. Everything around me started to blur, sounds stretching and warping like they were underwater, and a cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck.

And then it hit

A shudder ran through my body, the world tilting as I stumbled backward. There was a roar in my ears, drowning out everything else. My muscles tensed, then locked. I was falling, I think. Or maybe I was already on the ground.

The lights in my head flared brighter and brighter, until with a burst of white they cut out and everything went dark.

Chapter Seven

‘She’s stirring.’ I spoke the words with some relief as I cradled Gwinellyn’s head in my lap and watched the flickering of her eyelids. ‘Give her some room.’

The small crowd around us shuffled back, though Daethie remained crouched next to me, her fingers pressed gently to Gwin’s temples. ‘There’s too much energy in her head,’ she murmured. ‘But it’s clearing.’

Gwin had told me about her fits, but she’d never had one in the time I’d known her. When I’d reached out to her with magic and felt that strange, fizzing energy, I hadn’t known what to make of it. Then she’d turned so white, and her eyes had rolled back in her head a moment before she’d dropped to the floor. I’d leapt the tiers of the amphitheatre and those seated on them in a scramble to get down to where she’d been lying twitching on the ground.

But before she’d fallen, she’d been luminous.

‘How long have you known who she is?’ Elder Miera asked as she stared down at me.

‘Not the whole time, but a while.’

She sighed. ‘And so you support this plan, I suppose? First, it’s save the boggies, now its save an entire human kingdom?’

‘Yes,’ I said firmly, even though I hadn’t known this was her plan. Even though she hadn’t told me. I glanced around at the other elders, all exchanging whispers and looking grave.

‘And if you have any sense, you’ll do the same.’ Rhiandra had been standing slightly back, but as she said this she stepped closer, sharp eyes combing over those gathered, arms folded. ‘It’s in your best interests to see her safely to Oceatold.’

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