Midnight Reckoning
Why had waking in the middle of the night felt so alarming? Thalia drew a deep breath and tried to calm her wildly pounding heart, but the sensation of suffocation only grew stronger.
She forced air through her narrowed windpipe, yet the tightness became unbearable. Unable to endure it any longer, she pushed herself upright. The splinted leg protested with sharp pain, but she had no time to consider it—her breath was failing. She half-fell from the carriage, mouth gaping wide as she staggered forward, desperate for air.
Before long she spotted the flicker of firelight not far ahead. Relief bloomed in her chest. Dragging her stiff, spasming leg, she limped toward the large tent where a campfire burned.
Then a mocking, cheerful voice drifted on the wind.
“She must have been cursed from on high.”
Thalia froze mid-step.
A woman sat before the flames, poking at the logs with a long branch while speaking loudly. “Everyone knows it. That woman cursed Her Highness the First Princess—burst into the birthday banquet and caused a scene!”
The maid’s voice rose with excitement. Thalia studied the face illuminated by the firelight; she did not recognize it. The woman must serve Aila or Garese.
The maid took a sip from her cup, then continued with relish. “Clearly the gods have punished her. Her own curse came back on her—purely self-inflicted!”
“I hear she might end up crippled. Is that true?”
“High chance of it! One of the Second Princess’s maids said the leg bones were shattered completely—took hours to piece them back together like a puzzle.”
Thalia flinched and glanced down at her own leg.
The woman’s voice dropped slightly. “They say she’ll have hideous scars too. The skin’s so twisted that even magic can’t remove them cleanly. All mottled and repulsive, apparently.”
“We won’t have to watch her swagger through the palace anymore.”
“Exactly. Her only source of pride is ruined. How could she strut about with a body like that?”
Scornful laughter rippled through the group.
Thalia, who had been standing frozen, began dragging her leg forward again, moving behind the speaker. The others paled when they saw her shadow, but the excited maid remained oblivious and kept talking.
“Her marriage prospects are finished too. What noble house would take a bastard who’s also crippled—?”
The woman’s words ended in a piercing shriek as Thalia seized her braided hair and yanked hard. The maid’s face went white with shock and terror when she recognized the princess.
Thalia looked down at her, lips curving in a faint, cold smile. “Why stop now? Keep talking.”
“Y-Your Highness…”
“What’s so frightening about a bastard who’s also crippled that you’re trembling like that?”
The maid’s eyes widened. A choked sob burst from the lips that had been smirking moments earlier.
“I-I was wrong, Your Highness. I committed a terrible sin—”
“What sin did you commit?”
“I-I…” The woman’s lips trembled. “I spoke disrespectfully and insulted Your Highness. Please, have mercy and forgive—”
“If you did wrong, you should be punished. Why beg for forgiveness first?”
The maid’s face had turned ashen.
Thalia studied the greenish pallor for a moment, then turned her gaze to the others gathered around the fire. The maids, frozen like mice before a snake, bowed low. Spotting a knight among them, Thalia gave a slight jerk of her chin.
“You. Come here.”
The knight hesitated, then approached with obvious reluctance. Thalia dragged the maid forward by the hair and forced her to her knees before him.
“She insulted royalty with that three-inch tongue. She must pay the price. Draw your sword and do your duty.”
The knight’s shoulders stiffened visibly. The maid was now sobbing as though she might faint. The man looked down at her with a grim expression, then placed a hand over his chest and bowed deeply.
“Your Highness, we are already short-handed preparing the funeral and tending the wounded. Carrying out an execution now would only cause unnecessary unrest. Please, calm your anger—”
“Are you defying my order?”
The knight pressed his lips together and bowed even lower.
Thalia let out a short, bitter laugh at the silent refusal, then her face twisted with rage. “If you won’t do it, I will.”
She released the maid’s hair and lunged at the knight. Startled, he instinctively grabbed her shoulders. Thalia glared at him, fury blazing in her eyes.
“How dare you lay hands on me!”
The man jerked his hands away as if burned. Seizing the opening, Thalia snatched the hilt of the sword at his waist. But the knight’s longsword was heavier than she expected, and her leg could barely support her own weight. As she tried to draw it, she lost her balance and collapsed to the ground.
A terrible silence fell over the grotesque scene.
Thalia clutched her spasming leg and looked up. The knight and maids stared down at her with rigid faces. Old memories clawed through her mind—dozens of cold eyes watching her as she lay helpless in her own vomit. The shame, the humiliation, the primal fear surged back, scorching her thoughts.
She pressed trembling hands to the ground and forced herself upright. She wanted to rise with the dignity and authority of a princess, but her leg refused to move. While struggling to stand, she noticed the maid watching her with blank eyes and felt her expression harden.
The same woman who had mocked her was now watching her crawl.
She would not allow it.
Thalia groped along the ground, seized a burning log from the fire, and swung it at the maid’s face. The wood seared her fingers, but the pain of scorched flesh was nothing compared to the agony of crushed pride.
A piercing scream tore through the night.
Before she could strike again, a dark shadow lunged from the darkness and caught her. Thalia thrashed like a wild animal until a familiar scent reached her. She went still. Barcas lifted her effortlessly in one arm and looked down at her with cold eyes.
She met that gaze, breathing hard, as he took the log from her hand and tossed it aside—just as he had once taken her sword.
Resentment flared. This man never stood on her side. He would not fight for her, yet he would not let her defend herself either.