The betrayal

Zara's POV

"No! Please, where are you taking him?!" I yelled and ran toward the two soldiers pulling my father away. Their hands squeezed tight on his arms. He tried to fall, but they yanked him up. My feet pounded the ground. My chest hurt.

"Stop! He didn't do anything wrong!" My voice cracked as I reached for him. One of the guards shoved me back hard. I stumbled, my shoulder hitting the wall. Pain shot through me, but I pushed myself forward again. "Please, just tell me what he did!"

My father's face was pale, drained of color. Sweat covered his forehead. He'd been sick for weeks, barely able to leave his bed. Most days, he couldn't even sit up without help. How could they accuse him of anything?

"Zara, stay back." His voice was weak, barely a whisper.

"No!" I lunged forward again, desperate to reach him. This time, two guards grabbed my arms before I got close. Their claws dug into my skin. I struggled against them, twisting and pulling with everything I had, but they held me in place. 

"Let me go! Let me go!" I screamed.

The front door opened wider. Marcus Drake stepped through, his boots heavy against the wooden floor. Relief flooded through me. Uncle Marcus would fix this. He was my father's closest friend, his brother in everything but blood. They were both betas and they've served on the council together for years.

"Uncle Marcus!" I called out, my voice desperate and pleading. "Tell them they're wrong. Tell them my father didn't do anything! This is all a mistake!"

He walked closer, his eyes cold. I'd never seen him look at me like that before.

"Your father deserves everything that's coming to him," he said. His voice was flat, emotionless. "He should be locked up forever if possible. How could he betray the Nightshade pack? Going out into the forest to plan with rogues on how to kill the Alpha King. Now that's just diabolical." He spat on the ground near my father's feet and I flinched.

"Take him away and make sure he never sees the light of day."

My knees buckled. The guards held me up, their grip the only thing keeping me from collapsing completely.

"No, that's not true!" I shook my head so hard it hurt. "He's been sick for weeks! He hasn't left the house! You know that, Uncle Marcus. You've visited him. You've seen him.”

Marcus's jaw tightened. But he said nothing.

"Please!" I screamed, tears streaming down my face. "He can barely stand! He can't even walk to the bathroom without help! How could he have gone into the forest? How could he have met with anyone?"

My father's head hung low between the soldiers. Blood dripped from his split lip where they'd hit him.

I fought harder against the guards. My shoulders burned. My wrists felt like they might snap from how tightly they held me. "Let me go! I need to go to him!"

One guard twisted my arm behind my back. Pain shot through me, but I didn't care, the pain in my heart was worse than the one I felt on my shoulders.

I saw my best friend Seraphina standing at a corner near the stairs. Her arms were crossed over her chest. Her face was calm and I could've sworn I saw a small smirk playing at the corner of her lips but it vanished before I could look again.

"Sera!" I gasped, hope sparked in my chest. "Sera, please! Tell them! You're always at our house. You know my father has been sick. You've seen him every single day. Tell them the truth. Tell them this is all wrong!"

She stared at me. For a moment, I thought I saw something flicker in her eyes. But then her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Zara, why are you forcing me to lie for you?" Her voice was soft, almost sad, like she was the one being hurt.

My breath caught in my throat.

"Your father wasn't sick," she continued, shaking her head slowly. "He doesn't even stay in the house. I can't lie, Zara. I just can't." Her voice cracked on the last word.

Her eyes filled with tears. But they were fake. I knew they were fake. I'd known Seraphina since we were children. I knew every expression, every gesture. These tears were a performance. But no one else knew that. No one else could see it, or they just didn't care.

"Sera, no—" My voice broke into pieces.

Marcus walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, sweetheart. I know this is hard for you."

She leaned into him, sobbing into his chest. I stood there, frozen. 

My best friend. The girl I'd shared everything with. The girl who slept in my room more nights than her own. She was lying. Right to my face.

"We're taking him for execution," one of the soldiers announced."

“Execution?" The word tore out of me like a scream. "No! You can't! He didn't do anything!. This is wrong!"

I threw myself forward with everything I had. With every ounce of strength left in my body. The guards struggled to hold me. My claws scraped against their armor.

"Father!" I cried, my voice breaking.

He lifted his head. His eyes met mine. They were red, swollen, and filled with tears.

"Please be fine," he whispered. His voice was so quiet I almost didn't hear it over my own sobs. "I'll be okay."

But I knew that wasn't true. We both knew it. Those were the last words he would ever say to me, and they were a lie meant to comfort me. Once the council decides on execution there was no going back, even if the moon goddess herself should come down to plead the execution would still go on.

They dragged him toward the door. His feet scraped against the floor, leaving marks. He didn't fight or struggle with them, he couldn't.

"No! Don't take him! Please!" I screamed until my throat felt like it was tearing apart. "Father! Father, please!"

The door slammed shut.

He was gone.

My legs gave out. I collapsed to the floor, the guards finally releasing me. Sobs ripped through my chest. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think.

"From this day forward," Marcus's voice rang out above me, cold and final, "Zara Ashford is demoted to a slave. She will serve my daughter, Seraphina Drake, and she will remember her place."

I looked up at him through blurred vision. This couldn't be happening, I held my head trying to relieve myself from the pain I felt inside.

"Sera…" I turned to her, my voice barely a whisper. "Why didn't you tell them the truth?. How could you do this to me? How could you betray me?"

She walked toward me slowly. Her tears were gone now. Her face was blank.

I waited for her to say something, anything.

Instead, she raised her hand and slapped me across the face.

The force knocked me sideways. My cheek burned. I hit the ground hard, my palms scraping against the cold floor.

"How dare you talk to me like that, you filthy maid."

I lay there, staring up at her. The girl I'd loved like a sister. The girl I'd trusted with my life.

She looked down at me with nothing but disgust.

Then with one final glare, she raised her heel and stomped on my fingers, crushing them against the ground. Tears streamed down my face as I stared at my broken fingers. The blood stained the floor.

“Get up, you have a lot of work to do," she said, walking away. Her bloodstained heels made clicking sounds against the marble floor.