The thud of his body against the ground wouldalwayshaunt me, and the only thing I could do to comfort myself was to dig my nails into my palms.
As he laid on the ground, there was no missing the pool of blood from his side—his stitches. Oh God, I’d opened his stitches this morning.
Chuckling, my father stepped around me, glaring down at Thorne. “Look at you, Graves, a pathetic mess. Perhaps we should leave you here to bleed dry considering it’s the least you deserve after all the men you’ve failed, all thelivesyou’ve robbed.”
I nodded at my father’s words. “Look at whatbothof you caused. Any moreissuesyou’d like to address?” My gaze fell to Matthew first.
Silence. Unearthly silence filled the room, no one willing to oppose me anymore. And still, even as I proved myself to my father, shoving them beneath my command, it didn’t stop him.
His foot drove into Thorne’s side, and the heartbreaking cry that tumbled from him forced me to swallow the sob I wished to let fall. “Another man rendered useless to my cause because ofyournegligence.”
Another kick. More blood.
“Because of yourincompetence.”
Another.
“Because of yourdisobedience.”
Another.
“P-Please,” Thorne rasped, the single word woven with desperation—he wasbegging.“G-General Valens… I’ll be b-better?—”
“Better?” My father snarled, dropping to a knee beside him. “You should’vebeenbetter, Graves.”
“I-I?—”
Shut up, Thorne. Please.
As if he could hear my internal plea, my father’s hand clamped down on Thorne’s mouth, muffling the gut-wrenching scream that came from him as two fingers dove into the wound I’d opened. Thorne thrashed against him, his cries only worsening as my father pushed even further, evenharder.
“All ofthis,” he seethed, gesturing over his shoulder toward me. “Is because ofyourinability to command my son correctly.Theseare the consequences of your actions, of yourfailures.”
Sweat coated Thorne’s face, his brows pulled together in utter anguish as my father refused to pull back. Kicking his legs, his movement only served as added encouragement for my father to add another finger.
“You going to cry for me, Graves?” he chuckled, twisting his wrist. “Because I’ve missed the sound of your fracturing soul; sing for me like you used to. Or do I need to explore your past and leverage the things your father did to break you? The things you thought you could hide fromme?”
Peeling his hand from Thorne’s face, the sounds that left the man I wanted nothing more than to save weren’t ones I’d prepared myself for. Each of his breaths hitched, whimpers spilling from him just as easily as his blood had. As his bottom lip quivered, tears slipped down his cheeks, each sob far more broken than the last.
“Oh, thereheis,” my father crooned, a sinister smile coating his lips. “There’s the Thorne Graves I met all those years ago. I didn’t think you had it in you to cry anymore, tobreak,but it seems I was wrong.”
“P-P-Please… I-I can’t. I-I-I…”
“Come on, use your words,recruit.”
Shock. He was going into shock.
“General Valens,” I interjected, my voice firm. “If you want him to survive for more torment, I would suggest making your final point.” Was that good enough? Would it get him to stop?
He remained motionless for a minute before rocking back on his heels to push himself up. “I believe I have made myself clear.” His hands brushed across his uniform as he came to stand, smoothing out any of the wrinkles. “See to it that your men are coerced into servitude, because next time, Thorne Graves will not survive, and it would be a shame to lose an asset like him.”
“Yes, General.” I bit the inside of my cheek hard to keep my hands from wrapping around his neck. I wanted to watch the blood drain from him slowly, totorturehim up to death, and then refuse to let it take him. Over and over. I wanted to repeat it until he begged for mercy, knowing none would be found.
“I have far more pertinent matters to attend to than this pathetic display of obedience.” His gaze swept from Thorne to Matthew and Liam. “I will see you tonight for our debrief on how the rest of the day went. I expect good news, Commander.”
Dipping my head in a nod, I refused to look at Thorne until he was gone. Any crack, any break would lead him on. I must have been convincing enough, because he pivoted, and without looking back, left us there.
I didn’t move until I was sure he was gone, not even taking a breath because I feared dropping the mask early would doom us all.
