“I’ve suffered for worse,” she rasped, voice hoarse.
Professor Emberveil didn’t blink. She pushed the glowing end underneath Rune’s chin, hard.
CRACK.
A bolt of lightning, real and raw, tore through Rune’s head, making her whole body jerk and seize in the chair. The energy licked over her ribs, illuminating every tendon and twitching muscle in her core.
Her clothes steamed as they singed at the edges.
She screamed, but it wasn’t surrender at all. It wasrage, and it was sexy.
“You think that’s going to get me to break?” Rune hissed when it stopped, her voice shaking but still sharp. “Try harder.”
Gasps echoed in the viewing room.
Raze made a choking sound. “Is she—taunting her?”
“That’s one way to cope with pain,” I muttered.
Slater said something incoherent, but Rune hadeveryone’sattention in this auditorium.
Professor Emberveil struck her again.
This time, the lightning hit her side.
Rune arched sideways in the chair, a cry bursting from her lips as the muscles across her stomach convulsed violently.
“You’re only prolonging the pain,” Professor Emberveil said. “Give up the intel. You’ll be allowed to rest.”
Rune’s head lolled, chin dripping sweat and blood, but she smirked. “I’m sorry, I’m a bit more of a pillow-talker. If you want my secrets, you’ve gotta do something for me first.”
Noted.
The wand crackled ominously.
Another hit.
Rune’s back bowed off the chair as if lifted by invisible strings. Sparks danced across her skin, her body trembling with unbearable tension, but she didn’t scream this time. She laughed. A loud and echoing laugh.
“Tell me!” Professor Emberveil snapped.
“I told you,” she rasped, eyes meeting Professor Emberveil’s. “You’re not gonna break me. Keep trying.”
Professor Emberveil studied her for a long moment. “I have one more method for you.”
“Aw, how kind of you.” Rune spat blood to the side.
Raze stared with his mouth open. “She’s actually insane.”
Insanely fucking stunning.
I said nothing. I was too busy watching her body twitch. Her chest rose and fell in raw, aching gasps while blood trickled down her skin. Her eyes still blazed with heat.
Professor Emberveil’s elegant boots clicked on the floor as she approached Rune again, tossing the wand to the ground a few feet away.
Rune sagged against the chair restraints, still heaving for breath. Her body was slick with sweat, scorched at the edges, and the tips of her green hair were curled and half-scorched.
She raised her head slowly to meet the professor’s gaze.
