“I’ve come to ask for mercy.” “Mercy?” I chuckled at the word. “I have no bone to pick with you, Stella.” “Not mercy for me,” she said, her eyes raising to mine again. “For my son.” I growled, stepping closer to her as a dangerous energy rose in me. “Your son is a traitor to the king.” “I know,” she breathed, her throat rising and falling as fear crept into her features. “I’m not asking for a pardon. All I ask is that if he is caught, he will not be killed. I have already suffered the loss of my daughter, to lose him too-” I struck her, my hand smacking hard enough across her face to leave a
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