Everyone was already gathered in the magnificent throne room when Eiet and another guard I didn’t know escorted me to my sentencing. I got a glimpse of Zane in my peripheral vision, a look of pain on his face. It twisted my insides now knowing that he actually did care. How badly would my death hurt him? I made a point of looking away in an attempt to keep myself together. I needed to be strong before the king. I could not afford to show weakness.

I looked straight ahead, and both thrones were still empty. Kalen was standing off to the side appearing nonchalant. He didn’t so much as glance in my direction and I suddenly wondered if maybe he had been tricking me all along. It was possible, wasn’t it? That Kalen had ulterior motives for everything he had done so far. Raphael had mentioned that the prophecy involved me, possibly, being the undoing to both Andreas and Kalen. It made sense that he would want to get rid of me. And it seemed Andreas didn’t have plans for killing me, so what better way to avoid Andreas’ wrath than have the king kill me?

I shook my head, realizing I was being paranoid. Kalen would never do something like that to me. Why would he come down to my cell to try and reassure me if he had other ideas? He could have said nothing and obtained the same results.

They halted me in the middle of the room and Eiet pushed down on my shoulders so I would kneel on the floor. My legs were too weak to fight him and gave in under me. I didn’t have to wait long before Princess Elisa walked into the room. Her golden hair bobbed as she walked with her chin high in the air, clad in an exquisite golden gown. She sat on the large throne. “My father is gravely ill, and as a result I am to take charge of today’s ordeal,” she announced with exactly the whiny voice I imagined her having.

She glared down at me, disgust filling her eyes. Her delicate little hand waved in Kalen’s direction and he turned to her, a brilliant smile on his face. “What say you of this one, Mr. Dragonov?”

“I say she is very well equipped in the world of magic. The power within her is greater than any in decades. She is definitely a threat to the kingdom and must be eliminated,” he stated simply. I gaped at him, uncomprehending. He couldn’t be doing this to me. This wasn’t happening, it was all a dream that I would soon wake up from.

The princess smiled. “And what do you have to say for yourself, witch?”

“That being born with magic should not be a crime. Someone should not be punished for something beyond their control!” I stared right at Kalen as I said the last part, and to my surprise, his eyes actually widened. Was this about the damned prophecy then?

Princess Elisa grinned with malice. “You are hereby charged with the highest crime in this kingdom: the usage of magic. As princess of this kingdom, I order you sentenced to death by fire at dusk.” She waved her hand, dismissing everyone and Eiet and the other guard started dragging me away again.

“Kalen! How could you! I trusted you!” I yelled back as I was being taken from the room. Kalen was a statue.  The princess looked at him curiously and he shrugged.

“I tried to win her trust last night by telling her my name, nothing to be concerned about.” His voice drifted out as I got pulled back to my cell. My whole world came crashing down. Kalen had betrayed me. He promised to get me out, and he betrayed me. While I knew his efforts would be futile, no matter what he did, he didn’t have to sign my death sentence himself.

If he had fooled me so easily, who’s to say I hadn’t been fooled by the others as well? What if Andreas agreed to his plan to get rid of me? I was beginning to question just who there was left to trust.