I bit my tongue and looked anywhere but at Shal who approached to stand at Fraser’s other side. It was where the Leader Superior’s second in command usually stood. Fraser had yet to name his new second since Valk’s passing. The position became another promise he could manipulate, as long as the role remained vacant. No matter how much Shal frothed at the mouth for it, he was never going to be given it. At least not officially.
Bringing my shaking hands into my lap, I clenched them together, willing them to stop. Amongst those standing around the edge of the great room, I found Edda. She always offered me shelter from the storms. Because of her, I grew up feeling safe and loved despite the cruelty of the world I lived in.
Edda’s gaze focused on me, an angry scowl meant for ourbenevolentLeader Superior on her face. She took a deep breath, and I mirrored her. Once, twice, a third time, until my hands stopped shaking and I regained control of myself. Edda offered a small nod of encouragement.
“Well, now is your last chance to tell me what you were doing in my lands.” Fraser addressed the Lysian. There was no interest in his voice, because he did not truly care. This was mere formality, to make sure the Lysian did not carry a message from his King.
The stranger’s gaze shifted to Fraser, his glare murderous.The features of his face were brutal yet not unattractive, except those teeth that appeared to consistently be threatening the world around him.
“I wish to travel northwest, for they have my kind trapped there as slaves. I want to free them. There is no other way to get to the Sidhe except through your lands,” he answered simply.
I found myself leaning forward.
What he was insinuating was ridiculous. None of us crossed the borderlines, for the treaty kept it so. The Lysians, Bavadrins, and the Sidhe lived very much separately. For any of the Lysians to have been enslaved by the Sidhe meant they likely had to travel through our lands. What the Lysian proposed was simply impossible.
Off to the side, Edda’s eyebrows angled in a scowl, as if she too were questioning whether to trust the Lysian or not. Edda was remarkably good at sniffing out a lie, spotting one before the words were even spoken from someone’s lips. For her to appear thoughtful because of the Lysian’s allegations gave me pause. Was it possible he was speaking the truth?
What’s more, the Lysians were not the only ones with missing people.
“You were not invited into our lands and were not found to be carrying any messages from your King; therefore, you had no right to cross the border. You crossed the border with ill intent. For this you will receive thirty lashings to start,” Fraser answered without a care for what the Lysian said.
Thirty was an incredible number of lashings. A Bavadrin was likely to pass out after ten, but the Lysians were stronger. Their bodies were more resilient to injury, or so the stories foretold. He was likely to remain conscious for the entirety of the punishment. Despite their strength and resilience, they were not immune to pain. This would not be a painless experience. It was going to be excruciating.
“Maybe we should hear him out,” I offered, calmly trying to make my tone more submissive. Bavadrin’s had been disappearing, enough for rumors to spread. Some said the Spirit had chosen them to ascend into a better world. The lives taken were not impactful to our leader or his rule, and thus he did not care.
Fraser’s hand hit the arm of his chair with enough force thatthe wood splintered. Anger radiated off him in such thick waves that it was palpable.
Willis, with the whip in his hands, took a single small step in our direction before stopping himself. His golden eyes found mine, and he shook his head ever so slightly, imploring me to stand down.
Willis was already furious when I went down to the dungeon to speak with the Lysian. Yet, if it came down to it, he would stand beside me in an unprecedented act of conflict with our leader. Bavadrins were tied to their Leader Superior. No one opposed him, and definitely never threatened him. To do so was treason and went against everything we held sacred. Once the Spirit chose the Superior, he or she was to rule until their passing, and only then was another chosen to lead. The Leader Superior was born in blood and ended in death.
I felt Fraser’s gaze on me, though I refused to meet it.
“Proceed,” he said to Willis after a long moment passed.
Nausea rose within me as my friend moved to stand in position behind the Lysian, raising the whip. Sad and regretful golden eyes met with mine before focusing on the Lysian before him.
The first lashing sounded through the great room, and it was as if the world turned on its axis. By the fifth lashing, the Lysian began visibly shaking. His skin, which was once smooth perfection, would now never be such. For the rest of his life, he would bear the markings inflicted this day. By the tenth, the sound of each subsequent whipping changed with the wet blood dripping from the wounds being carved into his skin.
In the beginning, the Lysian remained silent, but then the pain washed over him. The grunting accompanying a lashing morphed into menacing growling. It was not a scream of agony, but one of anger. I focused on a spot on the floor and prayed to the Spirit that the torture would soon end.By the time it was over, I could no longer look at the Lysian or anyone else in the room.
After the thirtieth lash, the Lysian was dragged back to his cell. The great room quickly cleared, the first to leave being Fraser who did not say a word to me. I sat there in silence until I was the last person left. Even Edda did not approach, knowing I needed a moment. It was all I could do to keep myself together. Hardly hanging on, I focused on forcing slow deep breaths to keep from passing out.
Once alone, I could not hold the memories at bay any longer. The flashbacks flooded my mind. I heard my mother’s voice, saw her blood on the floor of the very room I now sat in, saw the light slowly fade from her eyes. Heard the sound of the whips as they continued slashing at her body long after she had lost consciousness. Until she drew no more breaths.
I would have thrown up were there anything in my stomach. Edda had been correct regarding that.
3
ERIK
My back stung with every movement. It was incredible, the annoyance almost unbearable. I twitched the big toe on my left foot and my back burned from the effort. Gingerly, I lay down on my stomach, not wanting to infect the open wounds with the wet dungeon stone.
I thoroughly completed my part of the plan. The treaty offered protection to those who stepped over the border due to invitation or due to a message being sent from the leader of that race. It also offered protection to the leaders themselves and their immediate family if they were to cross a border with a message. I carried no physical letter because my voice should have been more than enough. The fools did not even ask who I was, just as I knew their kind wouldn’t. Spineless leaders often could not imagine others in power having a backbone enough to risk themselves as I had.
The Bavadrins raised a hand against someone who intended no harm. A royal with a message, seeking help. The treaty protected me, and they broke it. All that was left to do was to wait. With the ancient pact violated, I had the freedom to take any Bavadrin life I pleased, without fear of the Spirit’s wrath.Destroying them from within was simple, but that was not my goal. I wanted to use them, and for that, most needed to survive. Taking control would be easier with the Lysian army at my side. A single Lysian conjuror against the Bavadrins would be formidable, but an army? That would force them to acknowledge their defeat and bend to my will much easier.
I closed my eyes, searching for relief from the pain, but the sound of footsteps kept me from drifting into sleep.
