Ari’s laugh was low and cruel, a sound that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. “Watch your tone, boy,” he sneered, taking deliberate, leisurely steps closer.
“I’m not a boy,” Darius growled, his teeth clenched, muscles trembling with restrained fury. “Not anymore.”
Ari tilted his head, mock amusement flickering in his cold eyes. “So it seems.”
“Enough.”
Queen Alanna’s voice cracked through the tension like a whip. She stepped forward, an actual whip curling in her hand, its dark leather gleaming with a promise of agony. “Time to pay for your insolence, girl.”
My throat went bone dry. I couldn’t swallow. Couldn’t even breathe.
Shitshitshitshit.
“Leave her alone, Alanna!” Darius roared, spittle flying.
But I couldn’t move. My shadows—my last line of defense—remained stubbornly dormant. No whisper of darkness answered my call, no surge of power. The air left my lungs in a rush, and I swore my heart simply stopped.
“I don’t think so,” Ari said smoothly, as if Darius’s rage amused him. He prowled toward me, his smile a wicked curve of possession. “It’s time you learned your place.”
“No!” Darius kicked out wildly, chains clanging, but Ari stayed just out of reach as he unchained me. His hand clamped around my arm, fingers bruising, and I stumbled helplessly as he yanked me forward.
“Let her go!” Darius bellowed, the sound thundering like a war cry in the stone chamber.
Ari didn’t even glance at him. He dragged me across the room, my heels scraping against the cold floor, until we reached the looming whipping post. The stink of blood and sweat clung to the wood, and bile burned the back of my throat.
The manacles snapped shut around my wrists, just above the binding bracelets, locking me in place. A cold, sinking dread rooted me to the spot.
“You bastard!” Darius snarled.
I twisted my head around. Queen Alanna stood there, her lips curved in a sadistic smile, eyes glittering like jagged shards of glass.
The first crack of the whip split the air.
I squeezed my eyes shut a second before it bit into my back. Fire lanced through me, and a strangled gasp tore from my throat. My teeth ground together as I fought not to cry out, the taste of copper filling my mouth.
Another strike. And another.
Each lash ripped through flesh and willpower alike, my screams tearing free no matter how I tried to hold them back. The world narrowed to nothing but pain and the cruel rhythm of Alanna’s laughter.
When the next blow fell, the agony shattered something inside me, and I screamed a single name—a desperate plea that rose above all else.
“Enzo!”
