Chapter 5 - The Fire

“Wretched witch! I don’t know why we didn’t kill her sooner!”

That harsh growl sounded at the same time that Deborah was thrown to the ground, the roughness of the earth and straw from the courtyard in front of the palace tearing her skin through her already filthy dress. That pain, however, seemed almost like a joke after all the punches and kicks she had received while trying to free herself from the restraints on her wrists and legs. Eventually, when a hard punch in her stomach made her cough up blood and fear for her baby, Deborah decided to stay as still as a dead animal.

Still, the attacks did not stop. She could feel the bruises and concussions forming on her arms, legs, abdomen and head. Even her scalp was burning in a place where one of the servants had pulled her hair, perhaps even pulling out an entire strand.

But even through all the agony, all she could focus on as she lifted her head, the gag still burning the corners of her lips, was Evangeline's tearful expression before her, standing next to the huge pile of wood and hay that had been set up in the center of the courtyard. To everyone there, her expression probably looked desolate, but to Deborah, it looked like nothing more than mockery, as if her cousin was ready to enjoy a show.

“We should make the horses tear her up!” an old man growled nearby “It’s the least she deserves for what she allowed to happen to my son! My poor boy, forever without his hands...”

“Don’t be foolish, Wallace.” A female voice responded “By burning her, we have a chance to burn the curse and free our lands from the curse those damned lions have placed upon us.”

“Mirian is right! My grandmother always said that the punishment that a follower of the God of Discord could receive is to be taken to the presence of the Goddess after death, to be punished as they should!”

“Please, Evangeline, try to calm down…” one of the servants begged, holding her cousin by the shoulders as if she were the only one there who needed to be comforted “I promise that your mother will be here soon. We haven't been able to find her yet, but we will soon. I think it must have been the shock of knowing what your own niece tried to do to you...”

“Haven’t they found her yet?” Evangeline’s voice changed for a quick moment, but then returned to sounding desolate “Oh, Mom is beside herself. Please, don't pay too much attention to anything she said when you see her, okay? She will certainly try to find an excuse for Deborah's behavior because she has always considered her second daughter. But please don't let her get close to Deborah, in case you find her before the fire is lit. Even though she is tied up, I'm afraid of what she would do to my mother, after what she did to me.”

"Don't worry. She won't hurt anyone else. Soon, she will be dead and I am sure the King will finally take you as his queen.”

“Oh, I can't even think about it…” she whimpered again, those ice-colored eyes piercing Deborah's soul as their gazes met “All I can feel is the pain of having to watch someone I considered my sister die... But, if this is for the good of the entire kingdom, especially if in fact Deborah was the traitor who handed us over to the lions, as I once heard Iron mention..." even with the meters separating her, Deborah can see when one of the corners of her mouth lifted in a discreet smile “Then, so be it.”

“Lift her up and tie her to the stake.” One of the guards ordered, causing Deborah’s body to recoil in pure despair.

Even with all the pain she was feeling, she still tried to struggle away from those rough hands, but nothing was enough. With extreme ease, those men dragged her to the structure of the fire, lifting a huge, heavy stake right into the middle, before beginning to tie Deborah's limbs to it. Her joints seemed about to come apart, but she couldn't even think about it as her eyes fell to her belly, still completely flat, but holding the most precious possession she had ever had in her life.

And now, both of them would be consumed by the flames.

In vain, she still tried to wriggle away from that fire, only managing to hurt herself even more as the wolves around threw more straw below her feet.

“We are just waiting for your order, my future queen.” One of the guards spoke to Evangeline, fervent loyalty burning in his voice, as he lit a torch far away.

“It hurts me so much...” Deborah’s cousin sobbed, her icy eyes staring at her without even blinking “So, please, just get it over with.”

Before Deborah's eyes, the torch moved, slower than normal, the flame getting closer as her entire life flashed before her eyes. Scorned, loved, betrayed, scorned again... Hopeful to build a better future for her baby, And, now, she would meet her end in the most painful way possible, as it had been all her life.

From the moment she was born, until her last breath, she would be hated. For the Goddess, for her pack, for her mate.

Inevitably, the torch met its fate, heating the pieces of wood and spreading through the dry straw like a plague. Through the gag, Deborah screamed as the flames licked her toes, though that was certainly nothing compared to the agony that was to come as the fire rose. As the flames crackled, she was no longer able to see through the smoke screen and her tear-filled eyes, but she was able to hear the voices chanting around her.

"Witch! Burn the Witch!”

“This is for you, my daughter! May the flames of justice destroy whoever took you from me!”

“Oh, my Goddess, please accept the offering of this corrupted soul and free our land from this death curse. We have already suffered so much...”

Monsters! That's what Deborah wanted to scream. That's what they were, monsters who were killing her poor baby who didn't even have a chance to be born. They could have done whatever they wanted to her, but they couldn't hurt that precious child. After all the things they had done while she was growing up and especially that last year, yet Deborah had never been able to truly feel hate.

Not until that moment.

If there was a way to make them pay, even after she was dead, through someone else, even if it was the lions... Deborah hoped that could happen.

She had prayed so many times in vain to the Goddess of the Moon... So, who knows, pray to the God of Discord would make any difference?

“Don’t say that, my child.” That same voice she had heard in Hannah's room murmured through the smoke "You are more important than you can imagine."

Hatred, despair and confusion bewildered Deborah, the pain from the burns on her feet increasing more and more, until the last voice she expected to hear screamed in an enraged command.

“Get my mate out of this fire right now!”