War (The True Reign Series) (20 page)

Rema

A knock sounded on the door.
“It’s time,” someone called from the other side.

Rema pushed away from Nathenek. She must have cried herself to sleep
in his lap. Her eyes were puffy and her head felt heavy. She sat, staring at the assassin. “How can you live with yourself?” she whispered.

Without answering, he stood.
“I’m to escort you there.” Nathenek reached down to help her up.

Ignoring his hand, Rema
got to her feet on her own. “What is the official charge?” She adjusted her tunic and smoothed her hair down.

“
Treason.”

Rema
laughed. This was her second time being accused of and sentenced to death for treason. It was comical that King Barjon and Emperor Hamen feared her. After all, she was just a simple girl.

Unfortunately, both men, both unworthy to rule, were on the verge of defeating her.
She feared this execution would not end quite as well as her previous one. She couldn’t possibly be so lucky as to escape death a second time.

Nathenek
gently took her arm, leading her from the room and down the winding stairs. Her wrists weren’t bound. She had to try—she wouldn’t die without a fight. Pretending to trip on a step, she pulled her body down, hoping the assassin would let go. His grip only tightened. Rema twisted her arm, rolling to her stomach, and kicking with her right foot. He easily blocked her kick, yanking her to her feet. The entire ordeal was awkward since they were on the stairs and stone walls stood on both sides. “What are you doing?” he demanded.

“
What do you think?” she spat.

Two guards appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
“I’ve got this,” Nathenek hollered to them. He half carried, half dragged her the rest of the way down.

At the bottom, she reached for
the assassin’s dagger in his pants, just like Darmik had taught her. Sure enough, strapped to his thigh, was a knife. She yanked it free. She needed to be quick, before he disarmed her. The blow had to be hard and well placed. Rema lifted her arm and plunged the dagger down, aiming for his side, by his stomach. Only she completely missed, and the knife got caught on his tunic. Strong hands grabbed her arm, pinning it behind her. In one swift, fluid motion, Rema found herself flat on her back, lying on the ground, Nathenek straddling her body, her arms held above her head.

His angry eyes bore into hers.
“You just tried to kill me,” he said.

Rema laughed.
“You are taking me to my death.” Her laugh transformed into sobs. She struggled to get free, but he was too strong. “Get off!” she screamed, thrashing her body. “I don’t want to die!”

The assassin
’s grip tightened.

How could this be the end of her life? Her entire family and kingdom had been taken from her. For what?
The emperor’s quest for power? He’d destroyed her life, and now he was going to take it.

The fight drained from her body.

She wasn’t strong enough.

Nathenek must
’ve seen something change in her because his eyes softened. He released her, helping her to her feet. Strong hands clutched her shoulders, pushing her forward.

“Come on,”
he mumbled. “You can do this.”

She wanted to punch him for his stupidity.
A guard standing post next to a door pushed it open, and Nathenek ushered her inside, the door slamming closed behind them. Rema found herself in a small, windowless room lit only by two torches hanging on the walls. Another door stood on the wall opposite her. That had to be the exit to the courtyard—where she was to be executed.

“
Would you prefer to be blindfolded?” Nathenek asked, startling her.

She stared at him, completely dumbfounded by the question.
“Does it matter?”

“
I suppose not,” he answered. “I just thought it might be easier.”

The door behind her opened and Nathenek stiffened. He dropped to a knee, bowing his head.

“Rise,” a familiar voice commanded. Rema turned and stood face to face with the emperor. “Ready?” he asked, raising his eyebrows, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“To be slaughtered like a pig?” Rema sp
at.

The emperor laughed. “Such a befitting end for you.”

She balled her hands into fists, wanting to punch the evil man.

Emperor Hamen went toward the other door.

Rema said, “Please let me go.” Tears pooled in her eyes. “I don’t want anything to do with this nasty place. I just want to go home.”
And to Darmik
, she thought.

He paused, and then
slowly turned around, studying her. “Your execution has nothing to do with what you do or do not want.” He came closer to her, barely an arm’s length away. “This entire empire is built on rules and structure. It may seem harsh at times, but it works. Your very existence threatens
my
empire. I have no choice but to have you executed.”

Nathenek was right—the emperor
’s cold detachment was worse than King Barjon’s mood swings. She quickly wiped her tears away.

“
I don’t know how your ancestor Nero could have loved a commoner enough to not only marry her, but change the succession. Even though you have royal blood running through your veins, your blonde hair and blue eyes make you look like a commoner. No one would even know of your true lineage if it weren’t for your tattoo.”

He went to the door as if to leave when he paused and said,
“I considered the possibility of you marrying my son. It would have officially sealed the line.” He shrugged his shoulders. “But like I said, you look like a commoner, and I can’t ask my only son to marry you. I’ve spent far too much on his upbringing to throw it all away now. There are far better choices for a wife, ones that will further my empire. Because you, my dear child, are insignificant, and no one will ever know who you really are.”

Rema thought back to all the portraits she had seen at the palace when she first met Emperor Hamen. She recalled seeing a sickly girl of about fifteen years of age. There were no pictures of a son.

“I was unaware that you and the empress have a son,” she mumbled.

His eyes bore into hers, sending chills through her body because they reminded her of Darmik. “We don
’t have a son together—only a daughter, Jana.”

He
threw open the door and stepped outside into the bright light of day.

Rema had a clear view of the raised platform covered with torture equipment.

She turned and ran. When she reached the back door, she yanked it, but it was locked and wouldn’t budge. Nathenek wrapped his arms around her, picking her up.

“
No!” she screamed, kicking and punching.

He threw her over his shoulder and exited the other door, stepping onto the platform. Rema
’s tears were replaced with pure anger—at Nathenek for bringing her here, at the emperor for killing her family and ordering her death, and at life for being so cruel.

He had her legs pinned against his chest
, so she used her fists to beat against his back. “Let me go!” she screamed. “I’ve done nothing wrong!”

Nathenek s
lid her from his shoulder, dropping her onto the ground on her bottom, knocking the wind from her. She glanced out at the crowd. Hundreds and hundreds of people stood silent and still, staring at her.

Rema decided to tell them who she was. She opened her mouth to address the crowd when someone came up behind her, shoving a piece of fabric into her mouth, gagging her. Then he took a long strip of material and wrapped it around her mouth and head, rendering her speechless.

Glancing to her right, she saw an area directly behind the platform where the emperor, Nathenek, Trell, and half a dozen guards stood.

Two soldiers roughly jerked her arms forward, dragging her to the wooden block
at the center of the platform. She kicked her legs, trying to get free. They wrapped her arms around the block, locking her wrists into metal cuffs. She was on her knees, her chest atop the block, unable to move. Someone gathered her hair, pulling it above her head, exposing her neck.

Fear like she
’d never felt before took hold of her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone dressed in solid black approach, carrying an axe.

Another soldier stepped forward and spoke,
“This woman is found guilty of treason. Her punishment is death by beheading.” He nodded to the executioner, who raised the axe with both arms.

This was it.

The executioner lifted the axe above his shoulders, prepared to strike the back of her neck.

Rema squeezed her eyes

Darmik

“Get up,” Neco demanded.

Darmik couldn
’t imagine going on with his life now that he’d failed so miserably. He’d not only let his entire kingdom down, but the woman he loved. There was nothing left.

Neco reached down and pulled Darmik to his feet.
“Look.”

Darmik lifted his head, glancing at the platform. The previous two people were gone. Now, Rema was chained to the block, her neck exposed, the executioner standing over her with his
axe raised in the air.

Without thinking, Darmik grabbed his dagger
and threw it, embedding it in the executioner’s chest. As the man fell and the axe threatened to harm Rema, Trell leapt forward and pushed him, sending the executioner tumbling from the platform, along with his weapon, into a wide-eyed and stunned crowd.

At the same time, while the crowd was focused on the executioner,
the assassin stepped away from the other soldiers and, with lightning speed, unsheathed his dagger and slit Emperor Haman’s throat. It took a moment before the guards on the platform realized what Captain had done, and charged at the assassin, who held up something in this hand, while yelling at them. The soldiers froze.

People in the courtyard started screaming, demanding to know what was going on. The emperor lay at Captain
’s feet, blood pooling around his boots. Trell stepped forward, and the courtyard fell utterly silent.

Darmik peered at Neco
, who stood still as a tree, clutching a dagger in his right hand.

Darmik didn
’t know how the crowd would react to the sudden death of the emperor. At least they seemed willing to listen to Trell for an explanation.

“
Release her,” Trell ordered the soldiers. One bent down and unlocked Rema’s manacles. She slowly stood, her legs appearing shaky. Her face was red and her eyes were swollen from crying. The guard untied the cloth from around her head, removing the gag from her mouth.

Trell took the item from Nathenek
and came to stand next to Rema at the front of the platform. He held up his hand, and as Rema’s key necklace dangled from his fingers, the crowd gasped. Rema glanced at Trell, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

“T
he false emperor wanted this woman dead because of who she is. Rema,” Trell pointed to her, “is the true heir to the Emperion throne. She is the direct descendent of Nero, and is the bearer of the key.” Trell placed the necklace around her neck. “I present to you, Empress Amer Rema, your true and rightful ruler.”

Rema
’s eyes widened in shock as everyone dropped to their knees before her.

Rema

She saw Darmik standing there as everyone around him knelt on the ground. She wanted to scream with joy, run to him, and throw her arms around his neck. More than anything, she wanted to kiss him.

Rema smiled at Darmik, and he grinned back as he knelt on the ground. She was still trying to understand all that had
happened. Apparently, she was now the empress of the largest empire known to man. And if she’d learned anything from her past experiences, it was to be confident, and to take control—immediately.

“
You may rise,” Rema told her subjects.