VALERIA’S POV
They couldn’t see it, but I had already cast an invisible protective barrier around myself. The power hummed softly beneath my skin, a shield fueled by my resolve. No matter what they tried to do to me now, their weapons would never touch me.
I stood still, my chin raised, as Dimitri barked orders to the guards. The two men positioned themselves behind me, their whips in hand. I could hear the leather snapping against the air as they tested their weapons, but I didn’t flinch.
“Begin!” Dimitri commanded, his voice sharp and commanding, cutting through the tense silence.
The first lash came down, the whip slicing through the air with a loud crack. I braced myself out of instinct, but when it landed on my back, there was no pain. Nothing. The barrier absorbed the f
