I rush forward, drawing my dagger.
Dean yells after me. "What are you doing?"
This time, I do not heed his warning. This time, I cannot. I jump into the air, grabbing onto the wooden pillar, and cut through the ropes holding the woman. I pull the nails from her limbs. She doesn’t even scream, so weak is she. She falls into my arms. "Thank you," she whispers, her mouth stained with blood. I lay her down on the stone ground, and motion to Dean.
"Water."
He tosses me a jug, and I pour the liquid down the woman’s throat. Then I wet a part of my cloak and gently wash away the crimson stains over her face and arms. Around me, the city turns quiet. As if all life has stopped in respect for this one tender moment. Many have gathered to watch in silence. I suspect it is because of what I have done in freeing her. I am wrong.
"Who dares disobey my will?"
I know the voice in an instant. Levi.
I stand, leaving the woman sitting against stone steps, and face my treacherous brother. He stands, draped in a cloak of red and gold, amongst a company of a dozen men. His armor glistens in the sun, and the ruby in the pommel of his sword speaks of newfound wealth. His long white hair billows in the wind. His face twists in anger.
I step forward, until we are but a few feet away. "The woman is a Shade. It did not seem fit to treat her as Fae."
Levi studies me, no doubt seeing if he recognizes me. But the illusion holds, and he seems frustrated. "Perhaps you do not know whom you address," he says, his voice full of fake pleasantry. "I am new to these lands after all."
I say nothing. I do nothing. He will get no satisfaction from me.
Levi sighs, disappointed I haven’t yet figured out his importance. "You address Prince Levi, Lord of Stonehill and Crimson Castle." I know he expects me to be shocked. To drop down to my knees and beg for forgiveness.
I shrug. "Heard Fenris Vane is Lord of Stonehill."
Levi’s eyes nearly pop out. "You fool. You—"
"Please, your grace," says Dean, stepping in front me. "My brother and I have recently arrived from far away. The lands of our Prince Zeb. We have traveled for days, and so recent news has not yet reached our ears."
Levi nods, as if this explains my behavior. "Then you best know," he says, addressing not just me, but the crowd of hundreds. "I am now ruler of these lands. All Shade within the city have been deemed traitors, complicit in the attacks on Stonehill. They are to be punished as if Fae and nothing more. All slaves must maintain the new curfew, and if caught without a written seal from their master, will be whipped."
He meets my eyes once again. "I will forgive you this once. But not again, understood?"
I cannot say the words, so I nod instead.
It seems enough for Levi, because he addresses the crowd once again. This time, his voice is unnaturally loud, amplified by magic. "People of Stonehill, we have all gathered here today for one purpose. To witness the punishment of those who have wronged us, betrayed us, fooled us." He points to the castle, and the giant stone gates grind open. A company of guards lead two prisoners outside. At the front is a woman. Her hair black and blue. Her eyes green. Her ears long.
It can’t be…
I rush forward, but Dean grabs my arm. He whispers in my ear. "It’s not her, brother. It’s not Arianna."
I study the woman again. Her face. Her eyes. They are of Arianna. They are of the woman I love. But it cannot be. She is safe. She is at the palace. I look again, and as she draws closer, I begin to notice details I had not before. A lock of hair purple where it should have been blue. A freckle where there should be none. It is an illusion. A well done one. But whoever cast the spell did not know Arianna as intimately as I.
I scan the crowd, and behind Levi’s retinue of men, I see a familiar face, smooth but wise, his beard long and white. Kal. His eyes are sunken and dark. His posture slumped and weak. His white robes are long, but not even they cover the purple bruises on his hands. He was the one forced to carry out this magic. Forced into helping Levi.
I turn my gaze back to the imposters. The man behind Arianna, the man who is supposed to be me, is an even better fake. His thick brown hair is mine, his eyes and nose are mine. Even the muscles of his shirtless body match my own. Kal knew me well, mentored me since I was young. It must have been easy for him to recreate me, and at the same time, unbearable.
I search for a hanging stage, the traditional punishment for criminals, yet I see none. Instead, the imposters are led to a wooden block. The woman is pushed down to her knees, forced to lay her head upon the slab. Even from a distance, I see the tears in her eyes. Real tears of a real person. I do not know who they are. Fae or vampire, innocent or guilty, but I feel their fear within me. Feel the dread of their coming fate.
Levi walks up to the block and draws his large silver sword. I realize, he is intending to do the deed himself. He wants the world to know he personally killed the Midnight Star and the Prince of War. "Look upon the woman who lied to you, the woman who pretended to be your princess when in truth she is their princess, plotting with the Fae to take your very homes."
People begin to yell and curse and throw what they can at the woman they think is Arianna. They once loved her. How could this be?
"Look around," says Dean. "These are not people of Stonehill. They are Levi’s men, crawled out from his realm." I do as he says, glancing around. My brother is right. There are few familiar faces, and those that are stay silent.