Their Mistake

Ira's Pov

I lay down on the bed to finally get a rest from this unpleasant day only for the door to burst open again, with unnecessary force this time. A group of furious soldiers rush in and I sit up. 

"There it is! Drag it out!" the one on the lead orders while pointing a finger at me. 

What did I do? Say no to Princess Andria's demands? They were incredibly foolish. But I bet she didn't tell the angel kings the truth of what she had demanded.

"I can walk by myse-" I am cut off by a heavy punch from one of the soldiers that lands on left side of my face. 

"You envious sack of human meat! You thought you could try to kill our Princess and just lay here?" the soldier roars, reaching for my throat with his wolf claws that have emerged from the tips of his fingers.

"Don't kill her yet! The angel kings wants her beheaded at the City Square," their leader yells, stopping the enraged soldier from ripping my throat apart. 

I would rather die here than in front of a crowd. Sounds like whatever the lie the Princess told the angel kings was clever enough to make the fools order my execution. They would grant her the souls of their subjects if she asks right now that they believe she can command every dragon. Hope after my death my ghost will be able to look down at their kingdom during the next dragon attack and smile. 

I do not get a moment to recover from the pain of the soldier's blow before the others drag me out of the bed by my feet. I squeal out loud when my back hits the concrete floor and my vision blurs as the pain sinks in. 

No one utters an apology as they continue dragging me towards the door and down the stairs that lead to the ground floor. They walk fast while pulling me by the legs like a lifeless corpse. Tears gather in my eyes as I hear the laughter of every servant passing by.

A few minutes ago I saved this palace from  complete destruction, now they are going to cut off my head. It would be useless to try and defend myself in front of my mates, they will never question Princess Andria's false claims.

If my father is not dead I have no chance of meeting him again. My dream to find him has lead me to my own death. Now he will be on his own wherever he is, until the day he will join me and mom in death. 

The soldiers still drag me by my legs as they rush down the path leading to the main palace. The skin of my back sting as it gets scratched and cut by sticks and pebbles. 

"Look! It's the human that just tried to kill the Princess!" I hear a woman shout. "Hope they burn it to death!" 

A part of me wishes I didn't command the dragons to leave. I gave Princess Andria the glory she needed to control the minds of the fools of this kingdom. 

The soldiers take me into the regal chamber of the angel kings where I find my infuriated mates hugging and kissing a crying Princess. Her dress is torn and her necklace gone. It's obvious what she has accused me of. The soldiers drop my legs and I let myself lay down on the soft mats, feeling the pain of my aching head and sore back. Not even the sweet scents of my mates lulls half of the pain away. In fact the sight of them fills my heart with dread.

"You didn't have to bring the whole of it here. All we wanted is it's head for Princess Andria to see," King Ronen says after turning to glare at me.

"Beheading it would be a show of mercy which it does not deserve. Burn it to death at the city Square!" King Tiras orders. 

Trying to tell them the truth of what really happened would be a waste of breath, and I am already feeling too much pain to put in the effort that will change nothing.

"Make sure there is a huge crowd to watch before burning it. You can whip it first to attract people's attention," King Adon adds. 

Their glares are focused on me, none notices  Princess Andria's grin as they give their brutal orders. The soldiers starts to grab me again, this time by my arms and hair. 

"Wait!" the assistant of the angel Kings rushes forward and falls to his knees in front of the angel kings. The soldiers stand still.

"Your Majesties, I have served you with loyalty for many years and you know that I have never questioned a decision you have made. I do not intend to do so now. But I wish that you can repay my loyalty by sparing this girl's life. If you do so I promise to serve you to the day I die, without asking for pay or tribute," he utters the most unexpected words in a firm voice. 

I can hear the soldiers holding me whisper to each other in shock. My mates gaze at their assistant with confusion in their eyes. Princess Andria appears to be visibly shaking. 

"You're surrendering your little earnings to save the life of this envious witch? Have you lost your mind?" King Tiras questions. 

"I cannot explain my reasons now, your majesty. Perhaps in a few months my actions will make sense," the assistant answers. 

"You should get your head checked instead. We are not forgiving an envious murderer just because you asked," King Ronen states.

Envious murderer? Please tell me I am not accused of trying to murder the princess because she is the one they want. Why isn't anyone laughing at the ridiculousness of the matter? They still think I am that desperate?

"Then I demand that my life be taken in place of hers. The laws of this kingdom does state that one can die in place of someone they wish to live," their assistant surprisingly declares and even I am dumbfounded. 

Yes, the good-looking assistant of the angel kings wishes to die on my behalf. I agree that he has lost his mind. I have nothing of value that he knows of. I am an ugly human with a reckless mouth as far as they are concerned. Hell I wouldn't even die for myself.

My mates finally overcome their shock and briefly whisper to each other before turning back to us. 

"You can have her as your slave if she lives through her punishment. And she is not to set foot in this palace ever again or she will have her head cut off," King Adon states.

The assistant hesitantly nods.

"Give it twenty strikes of that bull whip," the angel instructs, gesturing at a soldier who has a thick and long leather whip hanging from his belt.

I shiver because his massive strength can rip fresh out of bones. He is the most gigantic of the well fed soldiers, and his amused smile makes my fear surge.

The other soldiers tighten their grips on my arms as the gigantic one readies his bull whip and steps closer. He halts one step behind me.

"You agreed to spare her life," the assistant of the angel kings complains to them.

"I said you can have her as your slave if she lives through her punishment," Angel Adon sternly corrects. "Surely you did not expect us to forgive what she did to our beautiful Princess because you ask us to," he adds and the assistant falls quiet.

"I am surprised to see that you are terrified of the pain you so gladly inflict on others," angel Tiras comments while glaring at me.

"Only a moron would believe I would try killing anything in the name of loving you," I boldly reply. 

"Such a shameless liar! I now understand why they rejected you. Your human wickedness knows no bounds!" Princess Andria screams. 

I am amazed by the fake distress in her voice. Who would think she is pretending?

"Add five more strikes for her foolish insolence," King Ronen orders the soldier with the whip. Perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut.

"Yes your majesty," the giant nods eagerly.

My jaws clench in anticipation of the inevitable pain, yet the sheer force of the whip knocks the air out of my chest. A wave of excruciating pain spreads across my sore back and an instinctive yelp escapes my mouth. 

The soldier swings his whip with even greater force and the resulting pain becomes impossible to withstand without letting out a raw scream. 

I bite down on my lower lip as more strikes continue landing on my bare back, some hard enough to cut through skin. The blows hurt worse when the whip hits the same place twice. The pain makes my vision blur. I feel the wetness of my blood against my skin as it flows out from the cuts that the whip made. 

The soldier lands a dozen more strikes on my already bleeding back in a ruthless display of immense strength. My body feels like it has been trampled on by an elephant. The soldier misses his next strike and the whip hits the back of my head with powerful force. Darkness envelopes my mind and I feel like I am falling down a bottomless pit. 

This must be death. They have killed me to impress the pretentious Princess!