"He did not!"
"At the very least, I haven't seen a single word of apology—only a letter that enraged me!"
A stir began to ripple through the crowd.
This was exactly the question they feared most, the one they dared not even think about.
"And I can tell you plainly, he never will! He would sooner take the ransom money meant for you and use it to celebrate a fire he lit himself, then let the songs of that celebration adorn your funerals!"
Edward abruptly raised his voice, mercilessly tearing open the mental walls these prisoners had built for themselves, forging the cruelest truth into iron nails and hammering them hard into their hearts.
"That King never had the slightest intention of ransoming you. He won't pay a single penny, even though neither he nor I care about that paltry pile of Gold Coins! At this very moment, he's sitting in his warm Royal Palace, drinking red wine, eagerly waiting for the furious Duke Campbell to chop off your heads and toss them to his citizens!"
