PART 14: The Hand Above the Final Lever

Garrick’s fingers closed around the scaffold lever while Prince Elias stood beneath the noose.

I stopped moving.

The wooden platform seemed suddenly very small.

One movement could send the prince through the trapdoor.

One mistake could make four years of searching and suffering end in front of his mother.

Queen Annora approached the base of the steps.

“Lord Marshal, look at me.”

Garrick kept his hand on the lever.

“Your Majesty should have trusted the officers who protected you.”

“I trusted you.”

“Then you should have continued.”

Her face tightened.

“I trusted you with my kingdom.”

He laughed without humor.

“And now you would hand me over to a junior guard and a prisoner who spent four years disobeying me.”

I felt the blood running down my wounded arm.

My vision blurred briefly.

I pressed my hand against the injury and forced myself to remain upright.

“Your Majesty,” I said, “there are men in this hall who still recognize your authority.”

Garrick glanced toward the corridor.

Brenner appeared with several guards behind him.

Their swords were drawn, but they kept their distance.

The marshal tightened his grip on the lever.

“Do not test me.”

Brenner stopped.

“Lord Marshal, you cannot escape from this.”

“I do not intend to escape.”

The answer chilled me.

I studied his face.

He seemed to have abandoned every hope of proving himself innocent.

Now he wanted control over the final moment.

Queen Annora took another step.

“Release my son.”

Garrick looked at Elias.

“Your son had the opportunity to cooperate.”

Elias raised his head.

“I had the opportunity to sign your lies.”

The marshal struck him with the flat of his sword.

I moved forward instinctively.

Garrick jerked the lever slightly.

The trapdoor shifted beneath Elias’s boots.

I froze.

A frightened sound escaped the crowd gathered at the corridor entrance.

Queen Annora covered her mouth.

Elias struggled to keep his balance.

I could see that the wooden latch had moved partway from its socket.

The mechanism was old, but I knew it well.

I had inspected it during ceremonial assignments.

A steel retaining pin held the release assembly in place until the final pull.

If I could reach the pin, I might stop the trapdoor from opening.

But it was located beneath the right side of the platform.

Garrick stood directly above it.

I needed him to move.

I thought of my father.

He had stood between Garrick’s men and Elias because the order he received was unlawful.

He had refused to surrender the prince even though every officer around him claimed the command came from the queen.

He had died without knowing whether anyone would believe him.

For four years, I had carried his report like a burden.

Now it had become the reason the queen knew her son was alive.

I looked toward Brenner.

The captain noticed my gaze.

I moved my eyes toward the side of the platform.

He followed the direction.

I saw him understand.

Without raising his sword, he began shifting toward the opposite staircase.

Garrick watched him.

“Captain, remain where you are.”

Brenner stopped.

I needed another distraction.

I stepped forward.

“Lord Marshal, you knew my father.”

Garrick’s eyes turned toward me.

“Your father was a fool.”

The words struck me, but I did not move.

“He believed the law mattered.”

“He believed written words could protect him from the men enforcing them.”

“Then why did you forge his signature?”

Garrick’s jaw tightened.

“Because the transfer had to be completed.”

I felt the air leave my lungs.

He had admitted the forgery.

Queen Annora looked toward him.

“Say that again.”

Garrick realized what he had said.

His expression changed.

I pressed forward.

“You needed the records to show that my father surrendered Elias willingly.”

“Your father refused to understand the necessity of the operation.”

“And you left him dead outside the western gate.”

Garrick’s hand tightened around the lever.

“He chose his fate.”

I heard the queen gasp.

I could barely see through the tears gathering in my eyes.

For four years, I had wanted to hear the truth from the man who destroyed my family.

Now he had given it to me while holding another innocent life in his hand.

I looked toward the platform.

Brenner had moved slightly closer to the retaining pin.

Garrick followed my gaze.

He realized what we intended.

His face twisted.

“Enough.”

He turned the sword toward Brenner.

The captain raised his weapon.

I saw my chance.

I ran toward the steps.

Garrick looked back at me.

“Stop!”

I did not stop.

He pulled the release lever.

The wooden mechanism cracked.

The trapdoor began opening beneath Prince Elias.

I heard Queen Annora scream as her son dropped toward the darkness below.