Selene poured herself a drink, then gracefully sat on the large sofa. “So, why in the world would you believe it was okay to hit poor Evan?”
Iknewthat was why I was here. Fuck Kristine right to hell. “I wasn’t sure it was Evan, ma’am. I was attacked as I was leaving the dining hall and defended myself. I didn’t have time to identify my attacker.”
“Blah…blah…blah, I truly don’t give two shits for your excuses. The fact I had to endure a visit from that whiny brat Kristine is enough to make me want to punish you.” She drummed her long red nails on the arm of the sofa.
My hatred for Kristine was hotter than the fires of Hell, but I knew Selene would’ve found one reason or another to get me here.
“I won in the coliseum again, and I dedicated the fight to your Faction.” Ihatedhow timid and fearful I sounded, but I would say anything to get out of what I knew was coming.
When I first arrived, I was almost cocky, but it didn’t take long for me to realize that swallowing my pride hurt a lot less than Selene’s torture did.
She gave a chilling smile. “That’s sweet of you, child, but I’m afraid that we both know what has to happen here.”
I hung my head for a moment, then headed for her room. I’d tried to avoid this and was disgusted with myself for the effort. I knew any further pleas would be pointless.
I entered, took off my vest and shirt, folded them neatly, and set them on the desk in the corner. Then, I walked over to the manacles hanging from the ceiling and waited.
Selene walked in, not bothering to shut the door. She pointed her finger at me and made an upward movement. My arms jerked up, and the manacles clasped around my wrists.
That’s the kind of control I needed to take on this bitch. I didn’t have it yet, but I was getting there. Every day, I grew stronger. I just needed time, and I’d do what I had to do to get it.
Selene opened the large black cabinet that held all of her favorite devices of torture and bypassed the cat-o'-nine tails for my least favorite, the flagrum. It was composed of three leather thongs, tipped with bone shards for maximum damage.
“It seems my previous punishments may not have emphasized the level of obedience you are expected to show.” She walked up to me and dragged a single finger over my left nipple. “It’s a genuine pity that I see so much of Adelaide in you, and not enough of my Hayes.” Her eyes heated with lust. “I’d never consider making you a part of my Faction, but it would be fun to play.”
I shuddered internally at the horrible thought of what that would look like. I was never so grateful for the resemblance to my mother.
Selene lifted my chin and looked into my eyes, “Unfortunately, those amber orbs of yours are identical to hers and leave me cold.”
She dropped my chin and trailed the cold leather of the flagrum around my torso until she reached my back.
I closed my eyes and tried to prepare myself for the first strike.
The whistle of the leather as it traveled through the air was the only warning I received before the first lash stole the breath from my lungs. A sound like tearing cloth cracked across my back, and then fire seared through me, hot and blinding. The bone weights bit deep, dragging skin with them as they tore free.
The second blow jerked my body forward, my arms straining in their bindings as if they might tear free. The pain from the first hit hadn’t subsided, and now it intensified—doubling, tripling—until I couldn’t tell where one wound ended and thenext began. My breath came in ragged gasps; my body shivered violently.
By the third lash, I could feel blood trickling down my sides, warm against the cold air. My shoulders screamed from being bound overhead, every muscle burning. The cords kissed me again and again, each kiss a theft… of skin, of breath, of strength. The world shrank to leather, bone, and pain. And still the shackles held me upright, forcing me to endure when all I wanted was to collapse in the welcome darkness.
“Come, my dear girl, your father handled way more than this. Don’t shame him by collapsing under this bit of light torture.” She drew back to hit me again.
I lifted my chin at her words.
I knew she meant them to taunt me, but they gave me the courage to endure the rest of the lashes without losing consciousness. Just barely.
“You know, I’ve been thinking of the best way to let your parents know how much I’m enjoying your visit, and I think I’ve come up with the perfect plan.” She went to her cabinet and replaced the flagrum.
I managed to raise my head long enough to see her grab a hyde hook from her macabre collection. A knife named for its curved, claw-like shape, carried by hunters who used it to skin their kill.
My consciousness wavered in and out for a moment, the pain on my back excruciating.
“No, none of that, little Adelaide. I want you awake for this.” Selene laughed, “though I doubt it’ll be for long.”
I opened my eyes at the sensation of cold metal on my skin and saw her circling my Nexus mark with the tip of the blade. “So fragile,” she whispers, voice full of velvet and venom. “One stroke, and you are nothing. Your mother’s legacy erased.”
The blade kisses my skin, then presses in. Heat flared sharply. I bit the inside of my cheek until blood filled my mouth.
She hummed at the twitching flesh. “It parts so sweetly. Layers, that’s all you are.”
