The Princess of Ash novel · Chapter 18 of 24
Chapter 18: The Square
"He has lit it early because he wants to be seen doing it," said my mother.
She stood at the slit beside me, one thin hand on the stone.
The light from the square lay red across her face, and she did not flinch.
"He wants the crowd to watch me come out of this tower.
"He wants you at my side, and he wants the dragon in the air."
"Then we do not go," said Auren.
"We carry you out the roof."
"And he burns the stake anyway, and says the traitor queen fled."
My mother turned.
"I have been burned in my sleep every night for eleven years, Sovereign.
"I am tired of dreaming it.
"I would like, for once, to see how it ends."
"Mama, it has never been tried on you."
"I know my mother's hands," she said, "and her mother's.
"Fire has never once taken a woman of my line.
"And it has never once been asked to do it in front of ten thousand people."
I looked at her, at the straight thin back and the grey eyes.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of The Princess of Ash are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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