“Crown Princess Nelfera Dahlia Marvalov, the court finds you guilty of high treason and the attempted murder of Princess Valeria.”

She stares at me. She looks sympathetic, almost apologetic. If only I do not know better. Her blue eyes are teeming with poison that I never realized was there. The corners of her lips are twitching ever so slightly, hint that she is stifling a smile. She feels victorious.

I swallow back the acid making its way up my throat, the anger and hatred directed to nobody in particular. I shut down the sensitive awareness of the way my people, no, I cannot even call them that, the people of this country are looking at me—some with pity, some with disappointment and some with disregard.

“You are hereby stripped of your rank and title, of all lands and holdings, and sentenced to death. May God have mercy upon your soul.”