Tamlin's Daughter

Chapter 6

It took me three days to get back to Spring. I hated the suffocating smell of roses that assaulted my nose, but I forced myself to focus.

I flew to the manor and through Tamlin's office window, shifting back in front of his desk. He looked up and growled as me for a solid minute before finally talking.

"You should be dead," he snarled.

"Well, I'm not," I told him, crossing my arms.

"Then I'm going to have you publicly executed, tomorrow at noon as a traitor of Spring." He laughed; two guards came in a clasped my upper arms.

I couldn't stop my eyeroll as I was dragged back up to my tower. Clara was in there, sitting on the edge of the bed sobbing.

"Clara, why do you cry?" I asked as the door was slammed and locked.

"Odette!" She exclaimed, flinging her arms around my neck.

"Woah, why are you locked in my room?" I asked as I hugged her back.

"Apparently I am to be executed for telling you to escape." She said as she sat back on my bed.

"Yeah, me too, well at least we can die together," I said, sitting next to her.

"I've failed your mother Odette," Clara whispered.

"How?" I asked, completely confused.

"She was my best friend, when she discovered that she was pregnant she begged me to protect you, she thought she would die because all of her foremothers died as they bore their first child. I promised her that I would look after you, but I have failed." She began to cry again.

"You haven't failed me, I made the choice to come back here knowing he would likely kill me, he tried once at the meeting, but he failed, I have accepted it for me, my life has always been leading to my death, you on the other hand are not dying because of me." I told her, trying to figure out a way to get her out.

I pulled my sketch book out from under my bed and ripped out some paper from the back. I wrote a note for Rhys.

'I'm back in Spring, I'm sort of safe. I may be getting publicly executed tomorrow at noon but that isn't what I am writing to you about. My friend Clara is also going to die if I don't do something, please rescue her, use my death as a distraction for all I care, I should have died years ago but she has done nothing to deserve this, please help her.'

I held it in my hands and willed it to go to Rhys, Clara had told me stories of a couple how spoke by passing magic notes when apart.

When it finally vanished, I let out a breath and turned back to Clara.

"What did you just do?" She asked suspiciously.

"Nothing overly important." I replied.

A note appeared soon after.

'Don't accept your death! We will try and get you both out please don't give up.'

Was all that had been written back, I burnt it using the small fire in the hearth.

"What is going on Odette?" Clara asked me.

"Nothing, I'm just telling the Night Court where I am, they may have saved me." I admitted.

"Did you just ignore my warning?" She asked.

"No, but I was put in a bit of a tough situation as I woke up in their bedroom after Helion spotted me watching and things got a little out of hand. They were kind, even after they found out who I was, they took me in after he exploded a ball in my stomach to try and kill me." I told her and she flinched.

"Ok, we should go to sleep, there is no point sitting here talking." She said with a sigh.

We curled up in the bed together and I fell asleep pretty quickly, three days of flying would do that to a person.

The next morning, we were both woken by servants washing our bodies with rough sponges until our skin was red. We were both put in the simple dresses I have been wearing for my whole life and out hair was braided on top of our heads.

Ashwood cuffs were snapped around my wrists and I winced as I felt my powers being ripped away.

We were led downstairs and into the courtyard, a large crowd was gathered, great.

We were pushed into a kneel at the front of the stage with Tamlin behind us.

I kept my back straight and held my head high, I would not cower. I stared out at all of the faces, each one of them looked at me with hate but I didn't care, because I was going to tell them the true nature of my father before I died.

"The people in front of you are traitors, and today they shall face their punishment." Tamlin's voice boomed out and the crowd fell silent.

I was pulled to my feet.

"Any last words?" My father sneered at me.

"Actually, yes," I said, and he looked shocked but made no move to stop me.

"I can guarantee that none of you have ever seen me before, and you might be thinking that is a good thing, but I can assure you it is not. What if I told you that I am his daughter, that the only reason he is killing me is because I told someone else my name, you will probably yell that I am lying, because he is your High Lord, but I am not, if he hides his own daughter from you, what else is he hiding?" I spoke loudly, clearly, and thankfully my father made no move to stop me, I think he was in shock.

I was dragged forwards once more and I looked at Clara, smiled at her one last time, I just hoped that Rhys could help her, save her.

My father stepped forwards.

"Twenty lashings, one for each crime committed before death," my father yelled as I was tied between two posts and the simple dress was ripped from my body, leaving me naked.

I didn't hang my head, I stared into the crowd, willing my words to sink in. Each time the whip cracked I didn't make a sound, I just kept staring, even when tears began to slowly run down my face.

He had just finished the twentieth and Clara was still kneeling at the front of the stage. I begged the non-existent gods to help her as Tamlin walked around to face me, an ash wood dagger in his hand.

He smirked at me as he lifted it. I smirked back as I saw a shadowed hand reach of apparently nowhere and clasp around Clara's wrist, she vanished into shadows yells sounded.

Tamlin shoved the dagger into my middle, twisting before he went to yell at someone.

The pain was blinding, I didn't stay conscious for long.