Seize the Day

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Among those who stood in the crowd were Philippa, Odelia, and Clarice. Maddox looked at me from the platform with barely concealed surprise. He was probably wondering what the nervous wreck of a tutor was doing here yelling at everyone.

“Stop,” I said, panting with my hands on my knees. “The nymph is innocent!”

Cicero, the emissary with greying hair and a severe grimace, stepped forward from the platform. “And what caused you to have this conclusion?

My only proof was what Nezira had told me. How could I prove the mere words of a nymph? Would people believe me on the pretense of what Nezira said?

Then it hit me. Of course they wouldn’t believe me. I wasn’t supposed to be capable of talking to nymphs in the first place!

But I had come all this way—I wasn’t going to back down now. So I improvised.

“She was forced to sing,” I told him as I walked through the crowd, which parted like I was plagued with an infectious disease. “Didn’t you see the chains that bound her feet at the banquet? It wasn’t her fault!” Nezira’s expression was that of surprise as she caught my gaze. She never expected me to go this far. Heck, I never expected me to go this far. “You can’t kill her simply because she was forced into a decision in which she had no control over. It’s wrong. Aria is a just and merciful kingdom that had an equally just king!”

The crowd came to a stunned silence—whether it was from what I said or my horrid appearance, I didn’t know. I caught Titus’ gaze, but quickly looked away. Odelia left her position next to the platform and stalked over to me. “Ms. Brackenbury, you have no place to say that,” she said with a ferocity that would have scared me had I not been too exhausted to feel fear. Odelia grabbed my arm. “Leave at once. This nymph assisted in the murder of one of the royal family members.”

I yanked my arm out of her grasp and stared at her shocked face in defiance. “No, I do have a place to say this. It’s perfectly obvious that the dryad is innocent.” I looked at Cicero, who narrowed his eyes at me. “What would you do if you were forced into a situation where you would be killed immediately if you didn’t do what you were told?” I glanced at the citizens surrounding me, clutching my hands to keep them from shaking. “Aria is better than this. We don’t send innocents to unjust deaths, whether they are human or not. Do you have such prejudice against magical creatures that you would sentence any creature to death?” I couldn’t believe the words escaping my mouth. I knew I would regret this false mask of bravery in the future.

Sweat beaded upon my brow as Cicero frowned at me. He had been down in the prison—he was the one who had spearheaded the nymph’s execution. But he was only Odelia’s emissary. What business did he have in ordering the guards around? I saw his hands clench into tightly balled fists. “Ms. Brackenbury, I know how you feel—”

“No,” I interrupted him. “You don’t. None of you do.” I knew what he was going to say, but I would not stand for rejection. If I had to be imprisoned, then so be it. I would not let Nezira die without trying to save her. “This nymph is innocent. Your Majesty.” I turned to Philippa, knowing that I was putting her into a difficult position. I would apologize to her later. That is, if my nervous system didn’t implode on itself before I got the chance to speak with her. “You told me that the nymph’s fate had not yet been decided. What brought about this sudden change?”

Philippa’s expression was conflicted. She put a hand to her forehead as she spoke, “Lannie, I… We decided this shortly afterward. The council came to an agreement that immediate action must be taken.”