CHAPTER 29
By midday, the rain finally softened to a drizzle, but the humidity made the air heavy and suffocating. Lauren’s thin vest was shredded over her shoulder, where the metal had worn through the fabric and begun abrading her skin. Her hair was plastered to her face, and her body moved in slow, spasming motions.
She had managed to push the drum barely halfway around the massive square. Her progress was measured in feet, not laps. She tasted iron and salt, but it wasn’t just sweat—she was bleeding internally from the strained effort.
Her throat was completely dry, her body screaming for water. She looked toward the barracks, the image of the cold water bottle she had offered Ryle flashing in her mind.
He took the whip for you. He took the whip for you.
This was the debt.
Th
