Each vision she saw in the days leading up to this moment solidified her belief that dying today wouldn’t change anything. She couldn’t prove it, but there had to be a reason she’d been haunted by the images of this battle. There was a clue within them, some secret that would unravel the prophecy and save all of Aegis. There had to be.
The silk and lace of her wedding gown clung to the curves of her body and flowed like water as she moved. Her figure, too curvy to be considered fashionable, was squeezed into an acceptable shape by a corset inlaid with whale bones. She’d never been more radiant, her flame-like hair mirroring the sunset outside.
Finally a woman at the age of majority, never more ready to begin, and it was her ending.
“Tell me again,” she ordered Priestess Elba, adjusting the pins near her left ear.
“Your highness, it doesn’t matter how—”
“Tell me again,” she snapped. She turned piercing blue eyes on the priestess, whose words fell away in an instant. Liz’s breath hitched and her eyes fell to the mosaic beneath her feet.
“You’ll walk down the front steps of the palace to a boat waiting at the edge of the water. Your parents will walk behind you, and all the people of Silver City will be there to witness your descent.”
Liz closed her eyes, imagining it, biting her lower lip hard enough that she worried she would break the skin. If she prepared herself now, perhaps she could retain some dignity in these final moments.
“The boat will carry you to the water temple near the west bank of the bay where your groom will meet you.”
“My groom?” Liz scoffed, her eyelids fluttering open as she blinked back hot tears. “You mean the sorcerer you and my father sold me to.”
Priestess Elba had the good sense to look ashamed, even a little wistful if Liz had the mind to be kind. “Yes,” she acknowledged.
“Then what?” Liz asked. The Priestess couldn’t seem to find the words, her mouth opening and closing several times as a flush creeped into her face from beneath her cowl. Death was a solitary journey and the truth remained that no amount of preparation would comfort Liz now. Tomorrow morning, Liz’s mother would go to the altar and retrieve her lifeless body. Her wedding dress would become her death shroud. They would bathe her again, oil her again, her jewels and crown would be removed and traded for fresh water lilies.
“Then he kills you.” Her father’s voice came from the doorway as he strode into the room. The timber of his voice and the calm certain tone with which he spoke shattered what little composure Liz managed to gather. She wanted to laugh at her helplessness but found instead that heat was pricking at the corners of her eyes.
“Of course, Father.” The smallness of her voice sickened her. She’d always made herself small and agreeable to him. Everyone did. Too afraid of his pious fanaticism and absolute power to risk his ire. Priestess Elba bowed low, backing out of the room at an uncomfortable angle, careful to give him a wide berth.
She felt the feather-light touch of his fingertips on her hair for the briefest second. The tenderness of the touch ruptured the tenuous hold she had on her emotions. Her eyes snapped to his face, deep lines etched into his brow and chin. Not one part of his face was familiar to her, nothing to connect them together.
“Even though this will be the end of my legacy, I am proud to end the suffering of my people. You should feel honored, daughter, to give yourself for Aegis. Your name will echo in the Halls of the gods for eternity.” A hysterical bubble of laughter escaped her lips before she could quell it. Perhaps her mind had been lost in her desperation, but she laughed harder at the scowl on his lips. Tears blurring her vision she turned on him, all the fury of her seventeen winters finally released in this moment.
“You, great king, have done nothing for your people.” Liz didn’t raise her voice, instead punctuating each word with a confident step toward his looming figure. “I told you. For years, I begged you to listen to me, to heed the warning in my visions-” With a scoff he dismissed her words turning his back on her and heading toward the door.
“I am your daughter!” She shouted at his retreating back, feeling the words all the way to the deep secret part of her so hurt it would never heal.
“You were supposed to love me.” Liz whispered, clutching her stomach to try and keep herself from cracking open wide. She raised her eyes to the ceiling and sniffled, breathing slowly to rein in her sorrow.
“I love you.” The voice came from the door to the sitting room where Tia stood, trembling so hard she could barely keep herself upright. Liz closed her eyes, her bottom lip quivering. Her resolve shattered as tears tumbled unhindered down her cheeks. Tia’s hand gripped her hard, and they fell into each other’s arms. Liz’s eyes wrenched open as Tia’s shoulders trembled with agony. They held each other together before either felt strong enough to stand on her own.
Tia had never been more lovely, tears clinging to her long lashes, embellishing her dark eyes like stars. Liz wiped away the salt tracks from Tia’s cheeks, her hands brushing nervously over Tia’s skin. She tried twice to pull the jagged pieces of herself into a semblance of respectability. Tia didn’t fare as well, swallowing great gasping breaths, trying between the gulps to speak to her.
“Killian couldn’t even... I’ve never seen him cry before... How am I supposed to...? I can’t, Lisbet, I can’t...”
"Everything will be alright, Tia," she whispered, not trusting her voice to stay steady.
"How?" she asked in a voice so small and broken it hurt to hear.
"When you see me tomorrow, it will be as if nothing happened." Liz sniffled, patting her own cheeks dry. "As if I were asleep." Tia shook her head, frowning at Liz and scoffing in disdain. "You will sing the song of my life. It will echo in the halls of the gods forever. You will sing me into eternity, my friend. And I will miss you; I will miss you the most."
Tia wept again at her words, holding her for a long time until she was steadied by a soft knock at the door reminding them both that time was short.
"It's too soon!" Panic raced up Liz’s arms and into her throat. It was only sunset. The blood moon wouldn't rise for hours yet. Gods, she needed more time! She’d failed; there would be no more time to prove her certainty about her visions. Now, all she wanted was enough time to say goodbye. A servant girl hurried to answer the knock, grateful for any excuse to leave the girls to their maudlin weeping.
The door cracked open and Liz’s mother peeked around the corner, taking in her daughter in all her splendor. A tight coil of fear released from deep within Liz’s chest. They hadn’t come for her yet. She still had a few blessed minutes of her life left.
Her mother didn't look like herself. Eyes rimmed in red, her hair a mess, and she wasn't dressed yet for the ceremony. It was unlike her. Always prepared, always poised, especially with this day so long in coming, Liz couldn’t imagine a world in which the Queen of Aegis looked anything less than the epitome of regal confidence.
As she approached, the tears in her eyes rolled unhindered down her face and dripped off her chin. Cold dread spread from the base of Liz’s spine, splintering out and fracturing the fabric of her reality. Her mother’s hand was outstretched, reaching for Liz. That same hand was covered in blood, thick and rust-colored, drying on her skin.