Suddenly, my arms pulled high over my head, and my legs spread until my body forms an ‘x.’ I look at my wrists, expecting the manacles and chains to reappear, but it’s just her magic holding me in place.
I look back at her just in time to see that twinkle of delight in her eyes that tells me to brace for the pain. I hear the sound of a whip before it registers on my back. The pain explodes out of me, hitting me so hard that I instantly feel my skin pulling apart from the lash.
I don’t have time to prepare before the next lash as the whip hits my back, my body flings forward against the invisible bindings holding my body taunt.
I cry out, I can’t control the sound leaving my body. And with it, I hear the sound of the two males roaring next to me.
Stop,I try to tell them.Don’t give her what she wants.
But before the words leave my lips, another lash has me screaming in pain. And the sounds echoing around me from both men continue louder and louder.
Five times I’m whipped.
Five scars that I know won’t ever leave my body without a healer’s help.
Five incentives for killing Isolde.
I’m panting in pain when the whipping finally stops, pain sharpening with every shift of my body. I look at Ambrose, whose face is twisted, like it hurts him to see me like this.
I look to Nyx…He’s rabid—feral, furious, consumed.
“He smells your blood, and he wants to eat you,” Isolde says pleasantly.
He does, and yet, I don’t think that’s the reason for the fury on his face, the huffing of his nostrils, the glare on his face. It’s not directed at me.
“Kiss Ambrose,” Isolde says, releasing the bonds holding me up as she speaks.
I fall to the hard ground, my knees hitting the dirt floor with a loud thump, and my wrists catching me from smacking my face straight onto the ground.
I take a deep breath—one, two, three, trying to get my panting and heartbeat under control before I answer her.
Slowly, I lift my head, defiance in my eyes. “No. You’ll have to whip me until all of my flesh has been torn from my bones before I ever give you the satisfaction of doing anything you want. Your magic will vanish long before I do what you want.”
“Oh, my dear. The whipping was just for my enjoyment.” She lifts her hand, and like she’s a marionette controller, she lifts my arm and legs off the ground like I’m her puppet. I have no control over my limbs as she walks me to Ambrose.
Ambrose doesn’t move. His eyes lock with mine, though, and I see the pain etched into his face.
My body stops inches from his. So close that if I lean forward at all, I fall on top of him.
“How can I help? What do you want me to do?”he asks in my mind.
“Nothing—there is nothing to do,”I say back.
“Do you want me to kiss you back? Make it enjoyable? Be defiant?”
Before I can answer him, I feel our bodies being pushed together unnaturally until our lips slam together. Technically, we are kissing. Our lips touch, our bodies are melded, but nothing about this feels like a kiss. It sure as hell doesn’t feel like any real kiss I’ve had from him.
Ambrose and I keep our eyes open as we kiss, but we don’t speak mind to mind. We don’t have to. There is no reason to. Because we are both standing here defiant. Making Isolde use all of her power on us. And I know the power that she has isn’t enough. It isn’t enough to make us properly complete the marking ceremony the way she wants. Because this ‘kiss’ isn’t really a kiss. Just our lips crushed together.
Suddenly, our heads are ripped apart.
“Hmm, there wasn’t much spark behind that for you two being mates. It’s Nyx’s turn. I think.”
“No!” Ambrose shouts, breaking his composure.
“I’ll be okay. She won’t let him kill me,”I say in his mind.
“But he could hurt you.”