Chapter 84: The Curse before her death

[Imperial Capital — Execution Grounds — Dawn]

The bells of Qashmar began ringing before sunrise.

They rolled across the capital one after another, deep and solemn, echoing between the ziggurats and the ancient stone walls of the imperial city. Their sound reached every district, every market, every temple courtyard.

The people knew what the bells meant, an imperial execution.

By the time the sun rose above the eastern horizon, thousands had gathered in the great execution square before the Imperial Palace.

The ancient stone platform stood at its center.

Black banners bearing the crest of the Empire of Qashmar hung from the surrounding pillars, their edges stirring beneath the cold morning wind. Imperial soldiers formed a wall around the platform, spears held upright, their bronze armor catching the first light of dawn.

At the highest point of the square stood the imperial dais, and upon it sat Kael Vaelric.

The Emperor, his crimson robes falling heavily around him, the golden embroidery of the Red Wolf shining against the morning light. His crown rested upon his head, and his expression was unreadable.

Grand Duke Lior stood several steps behind him. Captain Cedric stood at the foot of the dais, sword at his side.

No one spoke.

Then the gates opened and the sound of chains filled the square. House Voss was brought forward. Cassian came first; his wrists were bound.

His clothes were still stained from the night in the dungeon, and the bruises across his face had darkened beneath the morning light. He walked slowly, every step revealing the exhaustion of a man who had already endured more than his body could bear.

Behind him came the old Duke Voss and then the remaining members of the family.

Men, women, and servants who had been proven involved. Every member whose crimes had been established by the imperial investigation was brought before the people.

And then—Nora appeared, her feet stumbled against the stone, and she nearly fell. An imperial soldier caught her arm and forced her forward.

Nora looked up.

Her eyes immediately found Kael; for several seconds, she simply stared at him, and the Emperor looked back.

There was no hatred in his expression, and that somehow made it worse.

Nora’s lips trembled.

“Your Majesty…” Her voice disappeared beneath the sound of the crowd; she tried again. “Your Majesty…”

Kael remained silent. Nora’s eyes filled with tears, and she suddenly fell to her knees, and the chains around her wrists struck the stone.

“Please.”

The word carried farther than she expected; the crowd became quieter as Nora lowered her head. “Please forgive me.”

Kael’s expression remained still as her shoulder trembled.

“I know what my family did. I know what we did to you.” She pressed her forehead against the cold stone. “I know I have no right to ask anything from you, but please…”

She lifted her face and tears streamed down her cheeks. “Please forgive me.”

Cassian turned his head.

“Nora.” She looked at him; his expression changed when he saw her crying. “Nora, stop.”

She shook her head desperately as her breathing became uneven.

“No…” Nora’s voice broke as she stared at Kael. “I should have spoken sooner. I should have told you everything. I should have told you what my father was doing. I should have stopped Cassian from—”

Her breath caught.

“I should have done something.”

For a moment, Kael said nothing.

The morning wind moved through the execution grounds, carrying the scent of incense from the distant temples. Above them, the imperial banners stirred heavily beneath the pale sun, the crimson wolf of Qashmar watching over the gathered crowd.

Kael looked at Nora; there was no anger in his eyes, and that made his answer all the more painful.

“You were loyal to your house, Lady Nora.”

Nora’s lips trembled. Kael continued, his voice calm enough to carry across the silent square.

“You could have severed your ties with House Voss. You could have walked away when you realized what your family was doing, but you remained with them; you made your choice.”

Nora closed her eyes; tears slipped down her cheeks. Kael’s gaze remained upon her.

“And now you have chosen to remain beside your husband until the end.”

Nora looked up sharply. Kael’s expression softened by the smallest degree.

“When you decided that you would face his fate with him, I understood what your choice meant, and I will respect it.”

Nora’s breath trembled, and she stepped forward. “Then please…can you forgive him? My husband…he only followed the orders of the head of House Voss. He was forced into this. He was afraid of his father. Please, Your Majesty…”

Her hands trembled.

“Please forgive him.”

Kael followed her gaze. Cassian stood several paces away; he did not look toward his father, he was looking only at Nora.

Kael’s voice was quiet.

“Whether he followed the orders of Duke Voss…or carried out those crimes by his own will, he was still part of them.”

Nora stared at him in disbelief.

“But—”

“The law does not disappear because the reason behind a crime is tragic.” Her face crumpled, Kael’s voice remained steady. “Being afraid does not erase what was done.”

Kael looked toward the execution platform, then he spoke the words that Nora had been praying never to hear.

“Proceed with the execution.”

The order fell over the square like a blade. Nora stopped breathing; for several seconds, she simply stared at him, then she turned.

“Cassian…”

He was already looking at her; their eyes met, and in that instant, Nora understood. There would be no miracle; this was the end.

Her legs gave way as he fell to her knees.

“Cassian…”

He took a slow step toward her before the guards restrained him. Nora crawled forward, and he smiled. It was the same tired smile he had given her in the dungeon, the smile of a man who had finally accepted what she could not.

Cassian’s eyes softened and a broken sound escaped her. Cassian looked at her for a long moment, then his gaze lowered, then the executioner approached. Nora immediately panicked.

“No.”

The guards moved closer. Nora fought them. “Please, Cassian!”

She was crying too hard as the guards pulled her back, then the distance became too great. Nora screamed his name; the execution bell rang.

BOOOOOONG.

The sound rolled across the square, and the crowd fell completely silent. Kael remained upon the imperial dais as he watched.

He did not look away, not because he enjoyed what was happening, but because an emperor who ordered a judgment had to possess the courage to witness its consequence.

Nora was forced to watch; she covered her mouth, but the sob that escaped her still carried across the square.

Her body trembled violently; she could no longer stand as she fell to her knees. Tears blurred everything.

The platform, the soldiers, the banners, and the emperor. She could only see Cassian, her husband, the man she had once resented and the man she had finally learned to love, but it was too late.

The executioner raised the blade. Nora’s eyes widened.

“No…please…”

She looked toward Kael; for one final time, she begged. “Your Majesty…”

Kael remained silent. Nora’s tears streamed down her face.

“Please…”

Kael’s jaw tightened, but the order had been given. The blade fell, and Nora screamed; the sound tore through the execution grounds. She collapsed forward, her hands striking the stone as her entire body shook with sobs.

For a few moments, there was nothing, only the unbearable silence that follows death.

Nora lifted her head; her eyes searched the platform. She saw Cassian’s head rolling down the platform, and something inside her broke.

Her hands trembled against the stone; she could no longer feel the cold beneath her palms, she could no longer hear the crowd, and she could no longer hear the guards.

All she could hear was his voice from the dungeon.

You were the best thing that ever happened to me.

Her tears continued falling, but now there was something else beneath them, resentment, towards one person who made her husband lie still.

Nora slowly looked toward Kael; their eyes met, and for the first time, the Emperor saw something in her gaze that had not been there before.

Grief, raw and bottomless and beneath it…a question.

It’s because of you…you took him away from me.

Kael had no answer, because he was the emperor, because justice had demanded a price, and because Cassian had participated in treason and because mercy toward one man could become weakness in the eyes of an empire.

But none of those truths made the sight before him easier to bear. Nora remained on her knees; she stared at the place where Cassian had fallen.

Nora remained on her knees; her shoulders trembled violently, but she did not cry anymore. Now there were some kinds of grief that went beyond tears.

Slowly, she lifted her head and her eyes found Kael.

And something inside him went cold; there was no pleading left in them, only hatred, raw and unrestrained. Burning so fiercely that for one strange moment, Kael felt as though the entire execution ground had fallen silent.

Nora stared directly at him.

“You.”

The word came out broken.

Kael did not move.

Nora’s lips trembled as she looked at him, her face streaked with tears, her grief twisted into something darker.

“You took him from me; you stood there… and watched.”

Kael’s fingers tightened against the armrest of his throne; he wanted to tell her that he had no choice. That Cassian had betrayed the empire, that the law demanded punishment, and that an emperor could not rule by sentiment.

But the words never came because Nora wasn’t asking for an explanation. She was condemning him.

“You think you won, don’t you?” she whispered.

Kael’s eyes narrowed slightly. Nora gave a broken laugh, but it contained no joy, only madness born from grief.

“You think sitting on that throne makes you untouchable.”

She slowly pushed herself upright; the guards immediately stepped forward, but Kael raised one hand, and they stopped. Nora looked at him as though she could see straight through the crown upon his head.

“Then listen to me, Emperor.” Her voice grew steadier.

“I curse you…I curse you to lose the person you love most.”

The words struck something deep inside him, and his expression changed with pain.

“I curse you to watch the person you love slip away from you while you stand helpless. You will reach for them…and your hands will close around nothing.”

The wind moved across the execution grounds, and the imperial banners snapped above them. Nora’s tears began falling again.

“You will call their name until your voice breaks.”

Another tear slipped down her cheek.

“You will beg the gods.”

Her gaze never left Kael.

“And they will not answer.”

Kael felt something unfamiliar crawl beneath his skin. Nora’s voice dropped to a whisper.

“You will cry like I cried today, until your tears turn to blood.” The crowd fell completely silent. “You will wake every morning wishing you had died beside them, and every night, you will remember their face.”

She looked toward the bloodied ground where Cassian had fallen, then back at Kael.

“You will live…but you will die every single day.”

Kael’s world seemed to narrow; the sounds around him faded, and everything disappeared beneath the weight of those words.

Nora’s voice became almost impossibly quiet.

“And when you finally understand what it means to lose the person who makes your life worth living…”

She smiled through her tears.

“I hope you remember me.”

Kael stared at her, and for one heartbeat, neither moved, then Nora screamed.

“I HOPE YOU SUFFER AS I HAVE SUFFERED!”

The guards seized her; there was still rage inside her that death had not managed to extinguish. The guards dragged Nora toward the execution block, her feet scraped against the stone, her hair fell across her face, and she twisted violently in their grasp.

But even as they forced her forward, her eyes remained fixed on Kael.

Hatred.

That was all he saw: hatred soaked in grief, hatred born from love, and somehow, that was worse than tears.

Nora was forced to her knees; the executioner stepped forward. The blade rose, and the crowd held its breath. Kael did not look away, nor did Nora. Their eyes remained locked across the execution ground, and for a fleeting second, Kael thought he saw something almost peaceful in her expression.

Then she whispered the final words.

“May the gods make you remember my tears.”

The blade descended. Nora’s eyes never left his, and the last thing Kael saw was hatred.

Then—

Silence.

The world seemed to freeze; even the flames of the braziers appeared to hold their breath. Kael remained seated upon his throne, motionless.