Page 168 of Onyx Cage: Volume II

Far too often, the cries of women and children haunted me, filling my mind with the last sound they made before I added them to the long list of lives I had claimed.

Whenever I could, I tried to save my men from those particular orders, but we all had blood on our hands. We were all guilty of taking lives that weren’t ours, even when those lives were too young, too innocent.

Well, all of us except for the man chained before me.

“Were there any witnesses?” This would be his one saving grace. If there was even a single shred of doubt about his willingness to follow orders?—

Samu nodded, effectively cutting off my thought. “I witnessed his disobedience myself, along with several other soldiers in his regiment.”

Der’mo.

I could prolong the process, force Samu to produce the witnesses, but I had a feeling he expected as much and had prepared them for that very thing.

So, instead, I searched Vasily’s features.

“How do you plead?” I asked, already sensing the resolve in his expression.

Everyone in the room seemed to hold their breath, the air pulled taut like a bowstring stretched too far.

“Guilty,” he said as evenly as he could.

With that one word, the tension snapped, flooding the room with the weight of his admission.

“You understand the punishment for directly defying the orders of your duke?” I asked.

He flinched at the wordless cry of his wife, his eyes squeezing shut as he nodded.

Was it worth it to him?

The children in Boldegu were still dead. His own might follow, left to wander with the Unclanned just as winter fell. Was the single stance on principle worth avoiding the stain on his soul, even as the casualties of his righteousness piled atop each other still?

“The sentencing is as follows: Vasily Lenkov, you are hereby stripped of your title, your estate, and your affiliation with Clan Bear. You will live out the rest of your daysUnclanned.”

I stood, bracing myself for the reaction of my wife as I made my way toward the hearth. But Rowan didn’t move. Didn’tbreathe. There were no sounds of protest or accusatory glares or pleading requests on his behalf.

It certainly made things easier—for now—but I knew better than to imagine this was the end of it.

Sliding my hand into the thick fabric of the forge glove, I lifted the black iron rod from the flames.

My footsteps echoed through the hall, a backdrop of sound to the cries of Vasily’s wife increasing as I approached him.

“Your household can choose to follow you,” I said flatly, repeating the words I’d said too many times before. “Or depend upon the hospitality of relatives, but they are no longer welcome at your estate and will be stripped of their titles and belongings as well. Do you understand this sentencing as it has been laid out before you?”

Vasily swallowed and gave a single dip of his chin.

With a gesture, I motioned for Pavel and Isaak to restrain his wife. Then I lifted the brand and pressed it firmly against his forehead.

Though Unclannings were uncommon, I was more familiar than I wanted to be with the pungent odor of burning flesh, the distinctive sound of skin melting against the glowing iron. What was entirely new was experiencing those things while my new wife observed for the first time.

The wife who already struggled not to see me as a monster.

Murder any children lately?she had once wanted to know. Would she add this to the list, mentally tallying how many times I had wielded a brand instead of an executioner’s sword on behalf of laws she disagreed with on principle?

I didn’t have to wonder what side of this moral quandary she would have fallen on. She would have faced the brand down every time, to hell with the consequences.

So when I finally handed the brand off, turning to face my lemmikki, I knew that there was every chance she already hatedme. I held my hand out to her like I had no doubt that she would take it, even as I met her tumultuous gaze. Half a heartbeat passed while she schooled every one of her features, then she drew her shoulders back and wrapped her arm around mine.

Her fingers squeezed just as they had before. Once again, I placed my hand over hers, though this time I grasped a little more tightly.