The Alpha's Unwanted Bride novel Chapter 530

Chapter 530: The Trial

The bells tolled at dawn.

Their deep, booming voices rolled across the kingdom, rattling windowpanes, waking servants, and calling the elders to assemble.

Roland had ordered the trial the moment Rose had agreed, and his command had spread with ruthless efficiency.

It was now evening and time.

"The red-haired girl," they called her.

Some scoffed and spat, claiming she was another fraud, another fortune-hunter come to play on the Queen’s grief.

Others, hushed and fearful, said perhaps, just perhaps, she might truly be a miracle child, the last surviving bloom of Scarlett’s line.

In the antechamber where the trial’s subject waited, Auburn sat alone, wringing her trembling hands together. The chamber was small and bare, its stone walls cold with damp.

A single torch sputtered on the far wall, casting a wavering glow across her pale face.

She had barely been able to call herself down from the very moment she had been brought in up till now as she heard the bells ring.

What if it doesn’t work? she thought desperately.

What if the magic fails? What if the blood shows nothing?

She thought of Candy lying dead in a pool of her own blood and shivered in fright.

She curled her fists and pressed them to her knees, her breaths coming short and uneven.

The iron door groaned and opened.

Cherry slipped inside like a shadow, her crimson gown trailing behind her, eyes sharp and glittering.

She shut the door softly and fixed Auburn with an impatient glare.

Auburn was delighted to see her!

"You look like a cornered rabbit," Cherry said coldly. "So scared and worried.

"I..." Auburn’s voice cracked. She swallowed and tried again. "I’m afraid. What if they see through me? What if the magic doesn’t work?"

Cherry’s eyes hardened. She strode forward and grasped Auburn’s chin, forcing her face up.

"Do you think I risked everything to bring you here only for you to cower now?" Cherry hissed. "Your hair is red because of my magic. Your blood is royal because of my magic. Do you hear me? When they test you, they will see what I want them to see. But you...". she shook Auburn’s chin lightly. "must not falter. You must look the part, act the part, breathe the part."

Auburn’s lips parted, her breath shaky. "And if I fail?"

Cherry’s smile was cold. "Then you’ll wish you had died with Candy."

The threat cut like ice. Auburn shuddered and nodded quickly. "I’ll do as you say."

"Good girl." Cherry released her with a flick of her hand. She smoothed her gown and leaned close. "Remember, child, it isn’t just your head on the block. If you fail, I fail too. And I do not take failure kindly."

With that, Cherry swept out of the chamber, leaving Auburn alone with her thundering heart.

❧

Cherry’s heels clicked smartly against the stone floor as she made her way to her sister’s chambers.

The guards bowed as she entered, and there sat Rose, pale and restless in her chair. Hildegard hovered nearby, her hands busy with embroidery though her eyes flickered constantly to her mistress.

"Cherry," Rose breathed as soon as she saw her. "I can hardly breathe. My heart... it will burst."

Cherry placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder, her expression carefully composed. "You must steady yourself. This trial will prove what you already know in your heart."

But then, lowering her voice to a whisper, she added: "Are you certain, Rose? Certain that she is truly Scarlett’s child?"

Rose looked up, her blue eyes shimmering with fragile hope. "My gut tells me so. The necklace, the hair, the eyes... everything cries of Scarlett. I would know my own blood. I feel it in my bones."

Cherry’s lips curved into a smile, soft, sisterly. "Then where your heart is, there mine shall be also. I will stand with you. If you believe she is your grandchild, then I believe it too."

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