Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Onyx: When you stop chasing the wrong things, you give the right things a chance to catch you.
From the moment I walked into the Legacy Council chamber, the same chamber that we were initiated in. This wasn’t going to be a conversation, that much I did know. I had a hell of a morning, beating the fuck out of the guys who were trying to fuck Hennessy. My knuckles were still raw and bloody.
The Legacy Council were all wearing their black cloaks, which concealed their entire bodies, along with their masks, which covered their faces.
There was no indication of who was behind each one, which was the point of all this.
They were supposed to be intimidating, but to me, they were just wasting my fucking time.
The faint glow of candlelight caught against each of the sacred crests behind us, representing each family legacy. The council was up in their chamber while I was on the floor below them, resembling a jury as I was on trial.
I stopped when I was in the center of the room for all to see, to investigate and pull apart.
“Onyx Devereaux,” one of the councilmen announced, echoing my name off the ceramic walls.
Keeping my face expressionless, I replied, “Council, to what do I owe the honor?”
“You have been called before the council, and this is how you decide to dress?” the same voice inquired.
I was wearing my usual attire, a black hoodie and jeans with my boots.
“I wasn’t aware of the dress code.”
“Your brazenness isn’t why you’ve been called before the council.” There was nothing but silence until the same voice informed, “You were warned by your father, were you not?”
“Mm-hmm…”
“Onyx Devereaux, use your words.”
I stayed quiet.
“This is the council. Let me remind you that you will answer when you are addressed and your answers will be clear. Do you understand?”
I nodded. “Yes, my father warned me.”
“Yet you continued this affair.”
“Affair?” I chuckled. “I haven’t fucked her.”
“You’re out of line!” one of them shouted. “You will show this council the respect that is owed!”
My eyes lifted toward the voice. “Then perhaps you need to learn the definition of affair. I’m just spitting facts. I haven’t fucked her.”
Another second of silence before the same voice called out, “You kissed her.”
“Yes, that I did.”
“You were warned not to.”
“Yes.”
“And you did it anyway?”
I crossed my arms over my chest, bored already. “Yes.” I grinned. “And before you ask, it’s because I wanted to, so I did.”
The utter silence was deafening. I could hear it deep down into my bones.
“You chose to disobey an order from a council member, is that correct?”
I cocked my head to the side. “Yes, we just established that.”
“You find this amusing?”
I shook my head. “No. Again, I’m just laying out the facts like any good member of the Brotherhood would.”
“You seem to forget who you’re speaking to. The council does not tolerate defiance. You’re forgetting your blood oath to your Brotherhood.”
“No, I remember every word of it perfectly.”
“Then how about you remind us what you swore?”
I sighed. “Speak No Claim, Hear No Promises, See No Temptation.”
“But you’ve managed to forget all three for one girl, correct?”
“I didn’t forget. I made a choice.”
“A choice that goes against what you swore, and you show no remorse.”
“No,” I agreed. “I don’t have any regret for what I did.”
“You stand before the council and admit that?”
“You asked me a question. I answered it.”
“Will you do it again? Kiss her?”
I shrugged. “If I want to.”
“And what gives you the right to disregard what you’re ordered?”
“I kissed a girl. It’s not that deep.”
“You were forbidden to.”
“If that’s what you want to call it.”
A new voice scowled, “You will be punished!”
I jerked back. “For a kiss?”
“The verdict for you voluntarily and knowingly defying your councils’ orders and warnings is the punishment of lashes of correction.”
I didn’t say a word.
“Ten,” another voice added.
That time, I didn’t hesitate. “And if I refuse?”
“Then you will learn the punishment for challenging your council instead of just disobeying it.”
Before I could object again, the doors opened, and two men entered. Unlike the Brotherhood, they wore pressed black shirts, trousers, and leather gloves. No mask hid their faces. They wanted me to see who was going to torture me to degrade me, causing me to bow at their feet.
One was holding a cat-o’-nine-tails, the other a wooden restraint board. It was low to the ground, designed for me to lay my chest, face, and arms on while extending my arms above my head to lock them into the holes so that I couldn’t escape or move.
“Take off your clothes from the waist up, then get on your knees, Onyx Devereaux.”
This wasn’t the first time I went against the council, but it was the first time it’d been for something like this. Never for a woman.
Although it went against everything I believed in, I surrendered, mostly to end this bullshit trial. Slowly, I slid off my hoodie and shirt, tossing it aside before lowering my knees onto the board.
“Chest down and arms up,” the same voice ordered.
I did as I was told. After they secured my wrists through the openings at the top of the board, they tested the restraints.
“Comfortable?” a new voice mocked, recognizing it was my father.
“Like a pig in shit.”
Thinking I’d cower, my father tried one last time, “Last chance, do you regret your actions on kissing the girl?”
He didn’t use her name on purpose, knowing it would piss me off. I could’ve lied. It’d been easy too. All it took was one word, one apology, and I’d receive mercy.
I didn’t, because fuck that shit.
Instead, I chose the hard way and responded, “No.”
I heard the whip rise, whizzing through the air.
Crack!
The first lash tore across my back, and my entire body jerked against the restraints as I sucked in a sharp breath, refusing to give them any satisfaction. They were a bunch of fucking voyeurs and sadists. They were getting off on this shit.
“One,” my father remarked in a cold, detached tone.
He didn’t give a shit what they were doing to me, under the delusion that I deserved it.
Crack!
Heat spread across my skin.
“Two.”
They wanted me to understand that every decision came with a price. I wasn’t allowed to think for myself. When they were halfway through, my skin was broken open, and I felt the blood dripping down my back.
Crack!
“Still believe it’s not that deep?” my father taunted.
“Yeah,” I stated, my voice came out strained. “I do.”
The next lash came down with such force I thought I was going to pass the fuck out.
“Six,” a new voice counted.
“You can stop this,” my father coaxed out of nowhere. Maybe he was starting to feel bad. “Just apologize and beg for mercy.”
Without missing a beat, I clenched out, “Is that all you got for me?”
Crack!
“Seven.”
I bit down on my lip until I tasted blood.
Crack!
“Eight.”
For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. The room began spinning, and everything started to slow down, the chamber getting darker by the second. I blinked, and the room tilted to its side.
Crack!
“Nine.”
My stomach roiled. The world was hazy, and I found refuge in that. Until finally…
Crack!
“Ten.”
I fought with the desire to tell them to fuck off, but my body had gone numb as the room spun in crazy, fast circles. I caught a glimpse of the council as the men opened the lock, gripping my arms to stand me up. I tried to find my bearings.
One right after the other.
It was no use. My breath disappeared, and darkness immediately took over. I passed the fuck out.
And only then did I find any peace.