The man in black—the executioner—brought out his blade.

"All right. Where should we begin?" Kace pointed at Ashe. "You."

"Hello," Ashe muttered.

"What's your name?" Kace asked. It was a simple question, really.

But Ashe stayed quiet.

"It's a simple answer, idiot. Your name is Ashe Knightley."

Kace paced around the room to Nylas, but stopped when Ashe said, "My name isn't Ashe Knightley, Kace."

Kace spun around, amusement filling his face. "Well, that's quite funny, isn't it?"

"I'm not joking."

"Right... And I'm a bird!" Kace kneeled in front of Nylas to ask another question.

Ashe interrupted Kace. "Your bracelet is quite delicate. Didn't your brother make it for you?"

Kace whipped his head around and rose to his feet. "How do you know that?"

"Your brother loved you, didn't he? He made you matching bracelets when you were nine. Remember? He gave it to you in the clock tower after your horse escaped the stables." Ashe placed his hands on the ground.

Kace made eye contact with me, then glanced back at Ashe. "Who are you?"

"Take a guess. Did you and Nicholyn have any personal servants? Any personal guards?" Ashe stood up from the ground and stretched his hand out.

"No."

"Correct. King Lius never trusted anyone to be around those boys. Who else would know that you secretly loved crocheting?"

"No one knew—"

"Nicholyn knew," Ashe said. "I knew, Kace. Look." Ashe raised his wrist and showed a small black bracelet. It was the same bracelet that I'd see him fidget with from time to time. "I'm not Ashe Knightley. Not to you, at least."

"What are you... What is this?" Kace ripped the bracelet off Ashe's wrist. "What are you saying?"

"I'm not dead. I never died."

The room was quiet. Then, Diana started laughing. "Shut up, moron. As if you were Nicholyn—"

"Diana, remember when I used to sneak you into the Entorrean armory? Remember when I let you touch the swords?"

Diana went silent.

"Impossible," I mumbled. It was completely and utterly impossible. "You look nothing like Nicholyn. There's... It's impossible for you to be Nicholyn!"

"Was Nicholyn's body ever recovered?" he said. "The bones were. The bones of a random, unfortunate servant who happened to be at the wrong place and the wrong time. They took his remains and called it mine. I, however, decided to jump out a tower into the River of Cadice."

"That doesn't explain anything—"

"It does. Because when I jumped in I didn't die like everyone else would've. Cadice took hold of my body. He spoke to me in a language I'm not sure of. And then, when I washed up on the shore of the river-bend, my form had changed."

Blinking, I stared at my sisters, then at Nylas, who didn't look the least bit surprised. He knew. He knew that Ashe—Nicholyn—was saying the truth.

Kace stared, stunned. He fidgeted with the bracelet, then glanced up at Ashe—whatever the hell his name was. "What's your name?"

"Nicholyn Knight Hollind. Please, Kace. I know you'd never let me die—not in your hands, at least."

Kace's gaze flickered to all of us. I joined him, confused. What the hell was Ashe saying? No... Nicholyn was House Suboriton... not Knight.

"You really are Nicholyn. Only Nicholyn would know he was actually of House Knight." Kace lurched forward and held onto Nicholyn. "I thought you died."

I couldn't bother to stare at them. I felt like a fool. That was why Ashe—Nicholyn—was so strange when it came to Manea. That was why he didn't kill me when he had the chance. That was how Ashe managed to get close to Manea. They were together. They were... Saints, why was the world spinning? 

The executioner said, "This doesn't mean anything. You are all sentenced to die—"

"Unchain them," Kace ordered. "Unchain all of them, and get out."

The executioner shook his head and lifted his sword. "I don't think you understand, Prince Kace."

He then brought the sword down. Irene happened to be underneath it.

Her head rolled to the center of the room.

Red covered my vision. Blood and fury and rage and everything I held in. Irene's lifeless head laid there, her contorted stare bearing into Whila's eyes. Whila's screams echoed throughout the room.

But I couldn't hear anything. Everything burned. The world didn't spin—it clarified. Every ripple in the air came fluttering toward me, and I tugged on one of them. Screams and curses were muted out, and I stared behind Kace.

A corporeal woman stood there with long, chestnut hair and dulled, gray eyes. Manea bent down and slashed Kace's leg, then she disappeared.

Kace went to his knees, and I watched the executioner escape. I didn't take long for the screams and curses around me to return to my conscience. I watched Diana yank at the chains—watched as Whila went to her knees and watched her twin sister's beheaded body pool next to her.

Nicholyn was screaming for Kace to let them out.

The executioner was long gone now. He should run. He should run away from what I'll do to him once I find him. Two sisters lost. For what? For what were they lost?

Suddenly, a wall blew down. Rysdan, Avaloryn, and Henneh, along with people I recognized from Kampa stood on the other side. Rysdan rushed to Kace's body and picked up the keys. "Sorry, buddy. Liars stay liars, after all. Hey, Ashe—"

Rysdan paused when he saw Irene's dead body.

Everyone quickly began unlocked the chains. I stumbled for a few seconds, but then I stabilized. "Where is he?"

"Who—"

"The executioner!" I sprinted out of the building and into the thickets. Trees. All tree. Not one silhouette of a man in black.

Absolutely.

Nothing.

I saw Diana running around, lost and confused. She fell against a tree, and I watched Rysdan help her up and into a wagon. Whila was sobbing as Henneh carefully covered Irene's head with a cloth.

"Where's my father!" I screamed out into the woods. "Where is he!"

"He's not—"

I turned around and flung my arm at his face. Nicholyn stumbled back.

"You let her die! You all let her die!" I ran toward her body and sunk, digging my face onto her headless chest. "My Irene. My beautiful Irene."

"We need to go," I heard a voice say behind me.

"We need to go now!"

"Valarya, let's go!"

"What's going on?"

"Princess Irene is dead!"

"Let's go, Valarya!"

I get a pair of arms wrap under my shoulder and lift me up. My entire world fuzzed into one, big screen.

Limply, my neck sunk as they pushed me into the wagon.

*~⚜️~*

Whila's screams could be heard from continents away.

Blankly, I stared at Kace. He sat in front of me, his leg mended.

And I was in chains. They decided it was best to leave Diana and I in chains after we attempted to kill Kace a few hours ago. It was torture to stare at the cause of my sister's death.

I couldn't hold back a laugh when I saw Kace wince. Diana joined me in laughing. It was like a melody to hear, especially since he was looking at me like I was the crazy one. I wasn't crazy. He'd know if I was crazy.

My body rolled from side to side as I laughed at Kace. Him wincing really was amusing. It was almost like gold was hidden in his wound, and I was inches away from touching it.

"She's in shock," I heard Zeena say outside. "It's likely she'll take weeks to recover, Your Highness."

"Thank you." Nicholyn walked into the room I was in. I didn't know where we were, and to be frank, I didn't care. "Valarya, look at me."

"I'm looking." I adjusted the chains on my wrist. "Ironic that I was off chains, and now I'm back on them."

"You tried to kill someone."

"You've killed many people, and yet you got put in chains once. But when I do it"—I lifted my arms up, showing off the new jewelry—"everyone gets pissy. I don't understand."

Nicholyn walked toward me, his eyes scattering over my body. "I'm so sorry," he finally said.

"Too late for that!" I laughed and flung my arms down. "Should've apologized when you stole me from my wedding, or when you—"

"Is Kace in here?" Odaya came through the entrance, glanced at Diana, Nicholyn, and I, then saw Kace. "It's true..."

"Odaya?" Kace scrambled from his bed. "You—"

"We'll talk later," Odaya muttered at him. "I'm taking this back." She took the Amulet of Torth from his pocket.

"All this over a stupid necklace. Screw me." Diana softly hit her head against the wall. "What a world I live in. We kill for a damned necklace."

Odaya exited the building. Nicholyn turned to Kace. "Who was the executioner?"

"He didn't tell me his name. I never intended for him to actually kill. He was simply in there to scare," Kace explained.

The audacity of him to talk. I wanted to kill Nicholyn, but now I have another Holland brother to kill. My schedule was filling up by the day.

I'd find him. I'll kill him. I was going to make him suffer—make them all suffer for this.