Chapter 13: The Silver Lash
1153 Words
The smell of my own burnt flesh was the only thing I could focus on. The brand on my shoulder was a throbbing knot of fire that seemed to pulse in time with my heartbeat. I was slumped against the silver-lined wall, my wrists held up by heavy iron shackles that bit into my skin. The silver fever was no longer a dull ache. It was a roaring forest fire in my blood, making my vision swim and my wolf feel like she was drowning in lead.
Mira stood in the center of the cell, looking down at a long, coiled whip. It was not a normal weapon. The leather was braided with thin strands of silver wire, and the tips were soaked in a dark, oily liquid that smelled like crushed wolfsbane. In the Coven, they called this the Silver Lash. It was designed for one thing: purification.
"Your wolf is too strong, Vespera," Mira said. She ran a gloved hand down the length of the whip, her good eye fixed on me with a cold stare. "She is the White Wolf, the royal blood. If we try to take your blood while she is fighting us, the ritual will fail. We have to break her spirit. We have to make her want to die."
I lifted my head, my hair matted with sweat and dirt. I looked at the woman who used to be my sister. "You can break my body, Mira. But you will never touch my wolf."
Mira smiled, and it was the most terrifying thing I had ever seen. "We shall see."
She swung the whip with a practiced ease. The first strike caught me across the ribs, right over the spot where Jaxen had cracked my bones in the pit. The pain was unlike anything I had ever felt. It was not just a cut. The silver and wolfsbane entered my system instantly, feeling like liquid acid being poured into my veins.
I sucked in a sharp breath, my lungs seizing. My vision went white for a second. Every instinct I had was screaming at me to howl, to cry out, to beg for mercy. But I clamped my jaw shut so hard I felt my teeth grind together. I wouldn't give her the satisfaction. I wouldn't give the Coven a single sound.
Mira frowned when I didn't scream. She swung again. This time, the lash wrapped around my thigh, the silver wires tearing through my trousers and into my skin. I felt my inner wolf whimper. She was becoming smaller, her bright white fur turning grey as the poison took hold.
"Nothing?" Mira hissed. She struck me again. And again.
The room began to spin. The world was nothing but the sound of the whip cracking and the sensation of my skin being shredded. Blood was dripping down my legs, pooling in the cracks of the stone floor. My pride was the only thing I had left, and I held onto it like a lifeline. I bit my lower lip until it burst, the copper taste of my own blood filling my mouth.
The heavy iron door suddenly burst open.
The sound of the lock shattering echoed through the cell. I looked up through the haze of pain, my heart giving a small, pathetic flutter of hope. Kaelen stood in the doorway. His Alpha aura was so powerful it actually pushed back the damp air of the dungeon. His face was a mask of cold, terrifying rage.
"That is enough," Kaelen commanded.
Mira stopped, the whip dripping with my blood. She bowed her head slightly, but she didn't look afraid. "Alpha Vane. I am simply preparing the vessel for the Master. The White Wolf must be subdued before the Blood Moon."
Kaelen walked into the cell, his boots clicking on the stone. He stopped in front of me, and for a second, our eyes met. In that brief moment, the mask slipped. I saw the raw, bleeding agony in his amber eyes. I saw the way his hands were shaking at his sides. He was dying inside, watching me be destroyed, but he couldn't stop it. He was trapped in his own lie.
Then, the mask went back into place. His eyes turned into cold, empty voids.
"She looks pathetic," Kaelen said, his voice dripping with mock disgust. He reached out and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. His touch was cold, his fingers pressing into my bruised skin. "Is this the great Princess of the Silver Moon? A broken dog bleeding in the dirt?"
The words hurt worse than the whip. I wanted to believe he was acting, but the silver fever made me doubt everything. Maybe Mira was right. Maybe I was just a trade he had made for his crown.
"She is stubborn, Alpha," Mira said, stepping closer. She held out the handle of the Silver Lash toward him. "She refuses to submit. She thinks her silence makes her strong. Perhaps she needs to feel the weight of an Alpha’s hand to understand her place."
I saw Kaelen’s jaw tighten. He looked at the whip, then at Mira. I could feel the tension in the room reaching a breaking point.
"Silas and the Coven Council are watching from the scrying glass," Mira whispered, pointing toward a dark crystal set into the wall. "They want to see your loyalty, Kaelen. They want to see if you can truly punish the woman who tried to kill you. Prove that she means nothing to you."
Kaelen stood frozen for a long heartbeat. I could see the sweat on his forehead. He knew he was trapped. If he refused, they would kill us both right now. If he did it, he might destroy the last bit of the mate bond that kept us alive.
Slowly, Kaelen reached out. His fingers closed around the handle of the whip. The silver wires hummed as he took the weapon from Mira.
He stepped back and looked at me. I was hanging from the chains, my body a map of red lines and silver burns. I looked at him, searching for the man who had given me the ring, the man who had protected me in the library. But all I saw was the Butcher.
Kaelen raised the whip high above his head. The silver caught the dim light of the lantern, shimmering like a snake. I saw his muscles cord, his entire body trembling with the effort of what he was about to do.
He leaned in close to me, his shadow falling over my face. For a split second, his lips moved. The sound was so quiet that even Mira, standing a few feet away, couldn't hear it. It was a ghost of a sound, a breath of air against the cold.
"Forgive me," he whispered.
Then, he brought the lash down with everything he had.
- Writer
