Chapter 851: The day of the execution (3)
Chapter 851: The day of the execution (3)
This was the first time for Lilac to see such a cruel punishment and she forced herself to watch how those five people burned to their death.
She could see the fear in their eyes, but also determination. The two emotions mixed together along with the flames that burned the haystack inch by inch until the fire licked their hooves spreading faster to their bodies.
For a moment, the commotion from the crowd had died down leaving everything in utter silence, as they solemnly watched how the traitors received their punishment.
The scene before their eyes instilled soul gripping fear in their hearts and was too brutal for those young souls to watch. Their mothers had to cover their children's sight and turn them the other way from the cruel sight.
Most of the female centaurs couldn't bear to watch the people that they had been together through thick and thin to meet their end in this way. They turned around and sobbed silently.
Some of the women from the mob of the citizens, turned their heads away and frowned, but they didn't feel any sadness as they thought as traitors they deserved such punishment.
Meanwhile, the hunters couldn't do anything, but feel regret for what Chiron and Carina had done, also for the three centaurs, who were dying along with them.
They understood that betrayal held the highest sin in this kind of situation. They couldn't blame Jedrek for this, as it was his mate, who was held captive, yet if they had to think back again; centuries ago, wasn't Jedrek had done the same thing toward those centaurs' mates?
It was a miracle that there were still a few female centaurs who were still lucky enough to survive that ordeal and could produce the younger generations.
However, two wrongs didn't make a right.
Everything seemed blurry now when the right and wrong mixed up together and nothing was fair enough for anyone.
As a King, it was Jedrek's duty to make sure that the justice was served without any hiccups. On the other hand, he couldn't possibly let them live after the kidnapping.
Also as a King, if Jedrek didn't use some force and enforce this kind of punishment, those lycanthropes would start to question him as their sovereign and this was a dangerous thing for him to be questioned by his subjects.
And, it was common knowledge that most of the lycanthropes tend to lean toward their beast's character, which was utterly savage and brutal. They would only pledge their loyalty to the most powerful one ever and if Jedrek didn't prove himself as such, and couldn't meet their expectations, things wouldn't go very well for him.
"Does it really have to be like this?" Lilac asked, keeping her eyes fixed on the five centaurs, who started to groan in pain, struggling to free themselves from the chains which kept?them bound to their place, but to no avail. The pain marred their expressions and this got engraved in Lilac's heart.
"This have to be done like this," Jedrek said, emphasizing each and every word. He could feel Lilac's anxiety and bitterness for what they had to suffer, yet this was not the right time to show them some mercy and forgiving them was another thing entirely.
At that time, they heard someone singing among the grunts and growls of pain. It was Carina, she was singing something.
"For she was his secret treasure
She was his shame and his bliss
And a chain and a keep are nothing
Compared to a woman's kiss
For hands of gold are always cold
But a woman's hands are warm
For hands of gold are always cold
But a woman's hands are warm
And there he stood with sword in hand
The last of Darry's ten
And red the grass beneath his feet
And red his banners bright
And red the glow of setting sun
That bathed him in its light
Come on, come on the great lord called
My sword is hungry still
And with a cry of savage rage
They swarmed across the rill
And with a cry of savage rage
They swarmed across the rill
He rode through the streets of the city
Down from his hill on high
O'er the winds and the steps and the cobble
He rode to woman's sigh
For she was his secret treasure
She was his shame and his bliss
And a chain and a keep are nothing
Compared to a woman's kiss."
Carina's voice rang beautifully through the centaurs, at first it was only her who sang that song, but then Chiron started to sing as well, followed by the other three centaurs and then the rest of the centaurs joined them.
It was their last farewell to their fellow centaurs and also counted as paying their last respect to their chief. Even Zarrn had to ball his fists beside his body as he couldn't help but sing along with them, as they watched their bodies being engulfed by the thick flames and their voices faltered from the pain they had to endure, but they kept singing.
The song of the centaurs made whoever hearing that shiver in the sadness and bitterness of the way their voice portrayed it.
Meanwhile, from the throne seat, Lilac had to bite her lips to hold back the tears that pooled in her eyes threatening to fall at any moment, she squeezed Jedrek's hand tightly to suppress her emotions, especially when Carina started to cry in pain, as the fire had reached her face now and covered her in bright flames that would turn her into ashes in a matter of few minutes.
The pain must be unbearable even for the male centaurs as they stopped singing and started crying in extreme pain.
The agony they felt was too much to take in, and Lilac couldn't bear it anymore. She stood up letting Jedrek's hand go, as she moved her hands into a flow motion and sure enough the flames extinguished instantly, as tendrils covered the part of the platform where those five centaurs were being burned.
People gasped when they saw this and the centaurs stopped singing as every single pair of eyes darted toward Lilac.
They thought she had saved them, but when they took a closer look they could see that that was not her intention.
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