"What?" she gasped, her composure faltering for the first time.
"You heard me," I said coldly. "She needs to learn her place."
The guards hesitated, but a sharp look from me had them moving. They grabbed her arms, dragging her to the center of the room.
"No!" she yelled, struggling against their grip. "Let me go!"
Her cries fell on deaf ears as they secured her hands above her head, tying them to the beam that ran across the ceiling. Her defiance should have angered me, but instead, it fascinated me. She was terrified, yet she refused to beg.
I stripped off my coat, tossing it aside as I grabbed the whip hanging by the wall. Its leather coils felt heavy in my hand, a weight I was all too familiar with.
"Maybe this will remind you who's in charge," I said, my voice low and menacing.
