Chapter 1064

All eyes, filled with anger and hatred, blazed like a furnace, threatening to scorch her. Aurora felt as if she were being roasted alive. Fear constricted her chest, nearly crushing her heart. Pain wracked her body.

The crowd's cries echoed like thunder: “Kill her! Kill this demon! Offer her as a sacrifice to the spirits of the villagers she slaughtered!”

Aurora trembled uncontrollably, curling into a ball in her cage, too terrified to open her eyes. Shouting and violence filled the air.

Leroy raised his arm. “Move aside! Clear a path! We’re taking this prisoner to the grave pit. Once there, I will release her, and you can do as you wish. But…”

He paused, his voice sharp. “Her head must remain intact. We need it for the king in the capital. You can tear her apart, but not her head.”

This day had been long awaited. Blood-red rage burned in their eyes, yet they were not rushed. First, the grave pit; then, justice for the fallen. The spirits of the dead would be avenged.

An ox cart moved forward, guided by a villager. Only about thirty villagers remained. They shed their outer garments, revealing black mourning clothes beneath. These were families, parents and children, not wealthy, but once peaceful.

Ahead, a group raised a black banner. Emerging from a side path, they formed a line, those on the left holding white banners, those on the right scattering flowers.

Yasmine learned from them that they were from Whitesand Village. Knowing of Aurora's execution, they had prepared the banners to mourn the dead.

Chapter 1064

The Whitesand Village chief, an elderly man with a trumpet at his waist, though unplayed, told Yasmine, “We thought Grand Princess Lisandra would take that beast to the capital, so we planned to follow. But we never imagined she’d leave this to us. Once she’s punished, I’ll sound the trumpet for the dead.”

Yasmine was surprised. She hadn’t known they planned to travel to the capital together.

Even in a border town, accustomed to war's ravages, the slaughter of villages and the murder of innocents struck them deeply. This sorrow and anger lingered. They had narrowly escaped a similar fate, knowing Aurora could have wiped out every village.

The scene terrified Aurora. Huddled in her cage, she trembled uncontrollably, her teeth chattering. She had never known such fear.

Her eyes darted around, hoping for Barrett and his men. But even if he came, she knew, they would die together. Yet, to die with him would be better than alone. Back at Victory Pass, he’d promised they would face whatever came, together, through life or death.

“Barrett… Barrett, please come…” she mumbled, as if his name could ease her terror.

By the time they reached the grave pit, Barrett hadn't arrived. Deafening shouts for her death surrounded her. The villagers’ hatred seemed capable of burning through her.

The suffocating sense of death loomed. Her stomach churned; she retched, vomiting yesterday’s meal onto the ground.