Chapter 222

Cassius was stunned. He blinked several times, trying his best to look innocent. “Wh-who, who would ever seek to dethrone you, the rightful ruler, Queen Rona?”

Her eyes penetrated into his like two beams of light cast down from the heavens, though not ethereal in any way. “I’m not sure. But I believe there is someone. Perhaps you know.”

“I don’t know anything, my Queen. In fact, when I thought I saw the duke, I went to the guards, your guards. If I was in cahoots with your husband, why would I do such a thing?”

She had to ponder that for a moment, which seemed like a win to Cassius. But then, her line of questioning took a sharp turn for the worse. “Let me ask you this, Cassius. What if it is my daughter who seeks the crown before it is her time? What would you do then?”

“Princess Katrinetta?” He did his best to sound shocked. “Your Majesty, your daughter is completely loyal to you. She speaks so highly of all that you do, and says how she only hopes she will someday be half as majestic a ruler as you. I can’t imagine she would ever consider a chance to dethrone you.”

Rona seemed to accept that answer. “What if it is her cousin who seeks to claim my crown, and the princess was to go along with the scheme? Then where would your loyalty lie?”

“Your Majesty, that is also unfathomable. In all of my time at Wrenbrook, I haven’t met a soul who has spoken any sort of disloyalty to you.”

“Answer the question, Cassius.” Rona’s tone conveyed she would not be distracted.

“Of course, I am loyal to you, my Queen.” He hadn’t said he would be, only that he was. Though neither was technically true, he hoped she would choose a different line of questioning.

Rona seemed to like that answer. What he could only describe as a smile, though it looked more like a nasty sneer, crept up her wrinkled face, starting at one corner of her mouth and ending with upturned crinkles near her eyes. “Good. Then you will accompany me to my private chambers and demonstrate your loyalty to me.”

Cassius’s eyes widened as he stared at the queen, trying to tell if she was serious. He glanced at the guards behind him, near enough to hear. Both of them were looking straight ahead at nothing, pretending to pay the pair little mind, though they must’ve heard the order—or was it a proposition?

“Pardon me, Your Majesty. What was that?”

Rona somehow managed to step even closer to him so that her upturned face was as close to his as possible. “I believe you heard me.”

A lump began to form in Cassius’s throat as her meaning became even clearer. “I did hear, my Queen. It’s only... I’m not quite sure I understand. I am a Representative in your daughter’s Choosing. It would be against Yewforian law for me to... visit any other woman’s chambers.”

She didn’t seem to like that response. Rona took a step backward. “I am the law!” she shouted, still close enough that a burst of warm air hit him squarely in the face. “Cassius, I do not think you understand. I am testing your loyalty. Either you are a man of your word, and you recognize me as your sovereign, or you are a liar who is more devoted to a princess who will never choose you in the end than to your own queen. If that is the case, if you intend to deny me and claim your role as a Representative will not allow you to follow direct orders from the one who wears the crown, you will find the rest of your short life full of regrets.”

The threats interlaced with her response were quite clear. If Cassius did not prove his loyalty to Rona right now, likely on his knees as Pierce had done, he would be dead soon enough.

Kit needed him alive. Not only would she be devastated if anything happened to him, of that he was sure, she needed his assistance in the revolution. He may not be able to fight off all of the guards still stationed outside of the throne room door with no weapon and no strategy, but later, once reinforcements arrived and the time to act was upon them, his sword would be important to the cause. Giving in now would mean he would be around later to assist Kit in fulfilling her destiny and saving the citizens of Yewforia.

But no amount of justification would allow him to submit to the queen’s demands. “I beg your forgiveness, my Queen, but I have made a solemn vow, not only to the princess, but to the people of Warchester Keep, and I intend to hold fast to it. Maybe I will not be selected the winner at the end of the Choosing, but that doesn’t negate the promises I have made.”

Rona took a step forward so that she was directly in front of him again. “I can assure you that your poor decision making has cost you more than a victor’s crown, Cassius. It has cost you your life.”

The queen made a gesture with her hand and both guards were on him faster than Cassius could react with no weapon and no chance at making it out the door. The two guards took hold of him, roughly this time, and even though he considered struggling, as the doors came open and more men dressed in gray and maroon poured in, he knew it was futile.

Even as they began to push and drag him out a side door he had never noticed before, his eyes stayed locked on the queen. That horrific grimace was back on her face, as if she had done something clever, something noteworthy. His eyes stayed focused on her until the door shut behind the last of the guards, and then, as dozens of fists made contact with every part of his body, Cassius had to call to mind another face, Kit’s beautiful, sweet smile, in order to keep the pain from consuming him.

He had no idea if they intended to beat him to death here or take him somewhere else, but he wouldn’t go down without fighting. He swung his fists, connecting with the head of one guard, kicking out with one leg and finding a knee. Despite his best efforts, he was simply outnumbered. The hilt of a sword to his head had the world spinning, and after a few more blows, the giant of a man found himself careening toward the ground before the world went dark.