Page 78 of The Kingdom's Reckoning
Lysanthia’s ink-black hair hung down her face as if pulled by heavy weights. The guard pushed her to hurry her along. Graeson’s mother stumbled but managed to steady her feet. She straightened, and her hair peeled back away from her hollow face. The seer’s skin was pale, nearly translucent, as if she hadn’t seen the sun in years.
"Now, Kalisandre," Domitius called, curling a finger inward, "be a good girl and come here."
Graeson’s breathing hitched. But this was why they had come here. This was the plan: Kallie for his mother. That was the deal.
"Not until she is safe," Kallie said.
Domitius sighed as if annoyed. He beckoned the guard forward, and the man dragged Lysanthia by the chains. When he reached the halfway point, the guard shoved Lysanthia to the ground. Her knees buckled, collapsing beneath her.
"You bastard," Graeson hissed.
"I believeyouare the bastard," Domitius countered.
Through gritted teeth and quietly enough Domitius couldn’t hear, Graeson said, "I’m going to?—"
"Nothing," Kallie interrupted, glaring at him as he shook with rage. "You are going to donothing. He’s doing this on purpose. Do not fall prey to his games, remember?"
The muscles in his jaw popped, but after a second, he nodded.
Kallie looked at Ellie and said, "No matter what happens, you protect her first."
Ellie nodded just as Graeson spat, "What? That wasn’t the plan."
"I can handle myself, Gray. Trust me," Kallie urged. She needed him to believe in her. If they didn’t save Lysanthia, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself. Graeson wouldn’t be able to live with himself.
Kallie faced the men on the opposite side. The third guard had already joined Domitius, his hands clasped in front of him. In the center of them, Lysanthia sat with her head down, her hair shielding her features. One foot after another, Kallie strolled forward. Each step she took became heavier than the last, but she kept going until she was beside Lysanthia.
When the seer dragged her gaze from the floor and looked at Kallie, her expression almost brought Kallie to tears. So much was visible within those gray eyes—Graeson’s eyes—that Kallie had to blink away the water blurring her vision.
"You are even more beautiful than my visions led me to believe," Lysanthia said with a small smile. "And you have your mother’s eyes."
"And Graeson, yours," Kallie said, the tears stinging.
"Do not cry, my dear," Lysanthia said. "I knew this was coming years ago, but some fates cannot be changed."
Kallie’s brows pinched together. Lysanthia had seen this version of the future? The question was on the tip of Kallie’s tongue, but before she could ask, the seer spoke.
"I am sorry for the pain that will come."
"The pain? What pain?" Kallie asked, her heartbeat thundering in her throat.
Instead of answering, Lysanthia only said, her voice a near echo, "Know that this was the only way."
The seer’s words sank like a stone in a lake in Kallie’s stomach. This was the end. Kallie could feel it in her gut, see it in the way Lysanthia looked at her.
"We do not have all day, Kalisandre," Domitius demanded.
Kallie peeled her gaze away from the seer. She had too many questions, but no time to ask. Swallowing them, Kallie moved.
But as she passed Lysanthia, the seer spoke once more. "A sacrifice was always needed."
Kallie stumbled, hearing the warning within the seer’s voice.
Kallie’s sacrifice would not be in vain. She would make sure of that. The others would live. Graeson deserved this. His mother deserved to be free, to have a life with the son she never got to see grow old.
"Bend the knee, Kalisandre," Domitius ordered when she reached him.
Kallie’s head fell to the ground in submission. In her periphery, she saw Graeson run to his mother, pulling her up and tucking her into his arms as he squeezed her. She wanted to memorize the way Graeson’s hair fell over his face, the width of his shoulders, the way his eyes peered into her very soul when he blinked them open to look at her over Lysanthia’s shoulder.
