CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Aurora inhaled deeply, filling her lungs and as she pushed the air out she finally gave Silas what he wanted, “One.” She spoke softly, but her voice was strong.
She gasped as the iron tips sliced through her skin like a hot knife through butter, the first strike resulting in tiny slashes along a diagonal line from shoulder to waist. She felt it, felt it as they cut through her skin. She did not cry out, did not give him the satisfaction.
Silas grunted, his displeasure evident, but he didn’t speak, he waited for her to continue.
After a few calming breaths she straightened her back again, she winced slightly as her skin ached, “Two.”
She had barely finished calling it out when the snap of the leather followed a split second later with a biting sting of the barbs. Aurora’s back arched, her body swaying forward just slightly as she fought to move away from the pain. The lashes scraped against her, carving more of her skin. The metal stung, burning her flesh wherever it met as it made contact.
Her back felt as if it was on fire. The faint smell of copper was reaching her, telling her, had she had any doubt, that he had breached the skin.
She began to bleed.
He continued his assault, only pausing for her to catch her breath and call out the next strike. With each contact her back bowed, teeth clenched as she grunted, but she refused to cry out. He would not get that, she wouldn’t allow it, and for each lash of the whip that struck her, it earned him no cry of pain, no begging, only the cold contempt that radiated off her.
Her voice was wavering and sounding strained as she panted, calling for the tenth strike. The scent of copper was thick in the air, her back numb only for the initial smack of the whip. She was crying, silent tears tracked over her pale skin as she fought for the energy to keep up her charade. Her wrists barked in pain from the iron shackles that burned her, her arms and legs shook, fighting to keep her upright.
But finally the tenth strike broke her.
Her back once more burned, a wave of pain so overwhelming caused her to whimper in pain. Whimpers became sobs, sobs became cries of pain as the tears continued to fall down her face.
She had clenched her teeth together so hard in an attempt to muffle the sounds that she thought they too, like her resolve, would crack. Her breaths came out in fast pants, and sweat began to bead along her hairline.
Her head drooped forward, no longer could she control her body how she wanted to. Only then did she notice the blood pooled below her, the tips of her boots now stained red with her own blood.
Even as she continued to count, her yells and screams touched no one, disappearing into the stone walls of the room. Silently she begged the gods to help her, to save her.
To make him stop.
She was so lost in the pain, so lost in herself, that she barely heard the sound of a fist striking wood. It was the solid oak door, the only way in or out of the room.
The sound grew as Aurora fought to remain present, wanting nothing more than to be anywhere but where she was.
The door was solid, it didn’t give an inch as the male on the other side of it roared.
Eli.
He had come to get her. He had gotten past the two males holding him back and was trying to get to her.
Aurora couldn’t bear her weight any longer and gave in to the ache. Her legs gave out and she slackened in the chains, causing the metal cuffs to cut deeper into her wrists, but after all she had endured so far the pain was like a bee sting.
A lazy grin formed across her lips. Eli had come to save her. She took in a shuttered breath, each inhale causing her pain as her slashed flesh pulled.
Silas chuckled, “It”s cute that you think he can save you. Many have tried to do what he is and have failed, he will be no different. I always finish what I’ve started.”
Aurora’s exhausted eyes widened suddenly, the sound of the crack a pointless warning as her skin split and pain erupted across her back, seeping into her bones. Soaring like a wildfire over her back.
“WAIT!” Aurora cried out. “I didn’t count, I have to count.”
She panted through the pain. Counting had given her control of the situation, but Silas was ripping that away from her almost as fast as he had given it to her.
Silas ignored her and continued.
Her shoulders jerked forward with every strike, her teeth clenching painfully as if the presence of Eli on the other side of the door gave her the strength to fight against Silas.
Every searing lash of the leather on her skin tore a pained cry from Aurora. Silas only laughed, the sadistic male was enjoying it, relishing in her pain.
The whip cracked one more time.
Finally, her twenty lashes had been dealt.
Arms aching from hanging from the cuffs, the metal coated in her blood, the skin on her wrists had begun to tear apart because of the iron causing her blood to travel down her arms. Aurora sagged forward, only the chains holding her in place. The cold air caressed her wounds, she sighed. She would welcome the balm to the searing fire burning her open flesh.
The punishment given, Silas strolled over to the table once more. He dropped the blood-soaked whip on the table carelessly, done with using his tool. She watched as blood dripped from the iron barbs as they hung limply over the side.
She fought the role of bile that rushed up her throat, her stomach recoiling in disgust.
He turned his head to the left, then the right as if to ease tension built there from his excretion. Rotating his right shoulder, his left hand cupping over it he sighed. He glanced over at her, a small smile tugging his lips, he looked satisfied, like he had just completed an exhaustive training session.
She was drained, physically, emotionally, mentally. But it was over. He would let Eli in, she would be brought to her room where she could heal and she would make plans. Each slash of her skin pulled a silent curse from her, she would kill him. The sadistic male would die, she would ensure it would be by her hand, and she would make him bleed.
Movement from across the room drew her attention and she watched as he retrieved a bucket and filled it with water from a spout protruding from one of the walls.
The sound of Eli yelling seemed louder now, the door rattled as he hit the door. Each strike caused her to flinch. She had never heard him so angry. Silas continued with whatever he was doing unperturbed by Eli’s muffled curses.
She had forgotten he was there, so wrapped up in her pain, trying so hard to detach from what was happening.
The bucket filled. Silas made his way back to the table, setting it down causing it to slop out slightly and mix with her blood now staining the wood.
Aurora watched helplessly as Silas poured some kind of powder into the water before tossing the brown hessian bag to the ground. She panted softly through the pain, pulling in small breaths, an attempt not to irritate the many open lesions on her back. She attempted to lift her head, the pain now almost unbearable. But as much as she wished it was over she had a sick sinking feeling in her gut. Silas was too calm.
Maybe it was a healing solution? Her magic would heal her wounds, but slowly, that would only happen once she was released from the chains. Would the lacerations heal without leaving faint scars without such help?
Dropping a cloth into the bucket, he carried them over to where she hung and set it down on the ground just behind her.
“What is that?”
He ignored her, his fingers deftly pulled the remnants of her tunic away from her back peeling them from her blood-soaked back. Her movements had worked the material over her back and judging from the sickly feeling rolling in her stomach, some had caught the whip knitting it into the gashes.
Aurora mustered just enough energy to turn slightly, her body held in place, her head angled to see what Silas was doing, “What are you doing?”
The sound of water sloshing over the rim was her only answer. Then just as she was about to yell at him, she got her answer. The sopping wet cloth touched her skin and Aurora bucked forward, trying to get away as she sucked in air before a deafening scream left her on the exhale.
Her screams were endless. She screamed as the pain sliced through her and bit deep into her flesh. Her ripped and weeping skin burned as the cloth was squeezed over her shoulders so it would course down her back.
Salt. That is what he had put into the water.
She screamed through the pain until her voice broke and throat ached, raw and dry. Her body shook violently as shock began to grip her. She was lost to the pain, horror, and anger burned fiercer than anything she had ever felt before.
Salt would cause scarring, her ability to heal would not be anything more than that of a human. The sadistic male had marked her, left a legacy on her body. A permanent reminder of her punishment.
Her screams had drowned out the sound of the barrage of thuds against the door as Eli fought to break it down. His roar of pain filtered into the room to mix with her own as each breath in was unleashed as a scream. A mix of pain and horror at what Silas had done. He had decided she would carry his mark, and she hated him more than she hated anything or anyone.
In a final assault of pain, Silas lifted the bucket once more and poured the remainder of the water over her back. A horse scream fell past her lips, her voice was gone.
Tears fell freely over Aurora’s cheeks and down her chin to drip on the floor as she sobbed. She was exhausted, her wounds continued to burn, Aurora went limp. Her body was too exhausted to hold her up any longer. Her knees buckled once more, the iron bit further into her wrists causing more blood to drip down.
Aurora felt as if she was drowning in pain. Every inhale of breath no longer measured as the pain had already hit unbearable. There was no escaping it. Silas had lied to her. He had tricked her, giving a false sense of security, a belief she had been in control.
“Good. Accept the pain, let it wash over you. Welcome it...see it for the beautiful thing it is.” Letting the bucket fall with a loud bang against the stone, the male circled her. His finger and thumb pinched her chin forcing her head up so he could watch her.
“I must thank Violet for such a beautiful canvas. Pale, flawless skin like yours always makes work that much more enjoyable.” His face lowered to hers, his eyes searching, reading the pain, the loathing, and the fear.
It was only when his eyes widened, for a brief moment, that Aurora knew he had seen the promise she had made herself.
Tears mixed with sweat as both dampened her skin and ran down her face. Tendrils and wisps of her dark hair that had worked free, the restraint Silas had tied it back still securing it just not as tightly.
His smile was lethal, “Learn to conquer the pain, to control it. If you can push past it, you will be unstoppable.”
“You–” Her voice was brittle, her throat raw, drawing a whine of discomfort. Turning her head away from Silas, Aurora allowed more tears to fall. She felt shame crying in front of him, hating that he could see how weak he made her and how broken she felt.
“You poured salt on me.”
“I did.” Two words was all he offered, no explanation, nothing.
“Why?” Her throat ached and anything louder than a hoarse whisper was too painful.
“What better reminder of what will happen if you disobey again. If it had healed you would have forgotten. Now...now you will always remember your actions have consequences.”
A loud thud sounded from the door. Then another followed by Eli’s deep tenor, “Enough Silas, open the gods damned fucking door!” The last word punctuated with a loud thud.
But Silas ignored him.
“I’ve watched you Aurora,” Silas brushed the damp hair plastered to her forehead away. “I had my spies keep an eye on you these past couple weeks. You were quiet, kept yourself to yourself. There wasn’t much they reported back.” He pinched her chin again and forced her to look at him, “But there was something that stood out, something I noticed, something they noticed. Every mirror, every reflective surface you walked past, you couldn’t resist looking at your reflection.”
His scarred brow rose, a wicked smile laced his lips as he tilted his head to the right. With eyes on her hair, he lifted his other hand to toy with a lock of hair that had worked its way out of the restraint. “You are vain, Aurora. Your beauty will get you far, but a pretty face can be ruined. Then what?”
She tried to pull free from his hold, but she was too weak.
His grip was firm, almost bruising, “I am tempted...to run a blade over your pretty lips and cheek, to mark it up a little. But perhaps that will be something I can do for you another day, another lesson perhaps should you fuck up in my lessons. To add to that I wouldn’t hear the end of it from Violet. She enjoys your pretty face.” He shook his head, sighing.
“Eli will kill you, he will fucking kill you, you piece of shit.” She mustered what little strength she had and spat at his feet, sneering in disgust at his threat.
“Now, now...Don’t be rude. I will let that one slide but do something like that again and bleeding or not, I will make you lick it up.” He jerked his hand free of her, Aurora’s head rolled on her shoulders before falling back. The motion caused her body to sway slightly away from him. He turned away from her, crossed the room to the table.
She angled her head to watch as he grabbed a dagger. Palming it, he played with the grip as he cast his gaze over the other utensils placed out before him. Content in his choice, Silas turned back to face her.
Aurora tensed, “You enjoy hurting people.”
He chuckled, twirling the blade in his hand, “Shouldn’t everyone enjoy their job?”
“But you get this twisted, sick satisfaction out of it,” Aurora wheezed, her panic building once more as she eyed the blade. What more could he do, would he do?
“Careful, Little Bird. I was given permission to add to your punishment. If you can’t keep that pretty mouth of yours shut I am more than happy to teach you what that sharp tongue will earn you.”
She glared at him.
Their eyes locked briefly as he circled her, only breaking when he stopped behind her out of her line of sight. A hum of appreciation sounded behind her as Silas admired his work.
“You know what I love about this room, why it is perfect for this?” He ran the tip of his finger over a raised welt on her lower back, a strip where the leather had met and yet failed to breach. “Not only is it warded to keep people out, but it is also warded to keep your wounds bleeding, to keep the blood spilling, to stop your healing from closing your wounds. A great little ward I paid the mages handsomely for, but worth every penny don’t you think?”
She didn’t even have the energy to pull away, her only reaction was to inwardly flinch at his touch and at his words. Her skin felt raw and even though she knew the faelight lit room to be cold from when they first entered, it was no longer so.
His finger worked slowly over her side, tracing just a breath away from the weeping tears. Occasionally getting too close and pulling a sharp intake of breath from Aurora. Silas was now so close that his nearness added heat to her already burning back. He reached her neckline and followed the direction of the braid he had tied.
“Let me get this pesky thing for you Little Bird, hmmm?” Taking her mousey brown hair in hand he pulled the binding free and worked the braid loose. Once or twice an occasional lock bruised over her back coating its ends in her blood.
She jerked her head, in an attempt to pull her hair from his grasp but the result was her hair gripped tight in his fist, his hand snapping down to yank her head back.
“Calm down.” Silas spat.
Aurora gasped in surprise, the slight sting of pain was nothing compared to the open wounds on her back. Her magic was a murmur, buried from the healing it was meant to be doing. The saltwater, iron, and warding refused to let her heal.
Echoes of the unrelenting pounding against the door filled the room as Aurora once more pulled against Silas’ grip.
In a flash the blade of his dagger cut through her hair like a hot knife through butter. Between Aurora’s tugging and Silas’ grip, she had given him the perfect tension for the deed to be done.
Aurora’s head snapped forward as the anchor he held on her was cut free. Before the words begging him to stop could fall from her lips it was done, the bundle of her long locks fell to the floor as Silas dropped it at her feet.
Aurora stared in horror, he had cut her hair.
Her brown hair lay limp at her feet, her own blood coating the strands, making them dark. For an instant she felt relief, turns out a glamor would stay on whatever it was put on even if it was removed forcibly. Her relief soon turned to grief.
Not a big thing to many, but to her, her hair was everything. She didn’t have much in the world. She never complained about the lack of things, never really wanted them. But she always wore her physical appearance like a mask. Her clothes clean, her posture straight, her body lithe and her hair a glorious mane. All things she had control of, all things she maintained and needed. A shield protecting the otherwise fragile girl who had nothing else.
He moved from her, tossing the dagger onto the table, the arrogant, sadistic male settled against it and watched her as she once again began to cry. Her wrists holding her weight as the last bit of fight was torn from her making her completely limp. She was a sorry sight to behold and an opposite of the girl who had first entered.
“Lesson one of the Guild, never show others the things precious to you. They will just be taken away to cause you pain or raise your ire. People in this world will always be jealous of others for owning things they lack, the Guild is no different. You will discover that as time passes, this was just a taste of what to expect.”
His head tilted as he studied her, first to the left then to the right as if he was processing what she was feeling, as if the emotions she was experiencing were foreign to him.
There was no sound even as tears fell from Aurora’s chin to join the mess at her feet. With great effort she lifted her head, “So you thought you would be the first?” She asked coldly, the words catching on a hiccup as she fought to once again build up her mental walls.
She didn’t want lessons from Silas. She wanted him dead at her feet and lying among the things he had taken from her.
“You’ll be training with me, who better to dish out the first lesson than me.” His words, rhetorical, a statement rather than a question. “There is potential in you, Aurora. I can see it, I can help it grow, mold it and make it what the Guild needs it to be. There are not many spies in the Guild, not many can do what needs to be done to meet their assignment as a spy. I see a spark in you, but don’t be fooled. If the spark is just that, a fleeting thing without the oxygen to turn into a flame I will put you out. There is no other option after this. If you don’t make it through my training, it won”t mean you will get to try something else, it will mean you are dead and you will join many others buried in the unmarked graves out by the ruins.”
The words spoken were toneless, just factual. That lack of emotion made them all the more frightening.
A spy.
Eli was an assassin and so were most of the inner circle. Did she have a choice or was this him letting her know that she would do as she was told or she would cease to live? Like everything else since arriving at the Guild, nothing was in her control. They pulled the strings and she was forced to dance to their tune. She thought back to the days and weeks that had passed as she’d a sense of being watched, eyes always on her, but she had convinced herself she was just paranoid.
“Prove yourself to the Guild. You are stuck here, you may as well put the effort in, Little Bird. I will teach you what you need to know, all the ways to extract information from a target and get what you need to fulfill your assignment,” he said as he pushed from the table to crouch before her.
At the touch of the cuffs around her ankles they fell to the ground, the sound muffled by the bed of hair they landed on. He stood and freed one of her wrists, the cuff springing open, her arm flopping over his shoulder as he held the exhausted Aurora. Most of her weight now on one wrist, her body fell into him when he freed it. Surprisingly he caught her, she had half expected him to let her fall.
Silas was surprisingly careful not to touch her back now, his arm instead catching her around the waist as he held her.
It was only at this point Aurora could focus. With the pain of the biting metal no longer overwhelming her, adding to the excruciating pain of her back, she noticed the banging on the door had stopped.
“You’re calm, Eli?” Silas called out over his shoulder.
“Yes.” Eli’s one word reply was strained.
The air around them seemed to shift, and the perceived physical weight of strong wards lifted. A breath later the door swung open, slamming against the stone wall inside the room.
Eli stepped into the room, his movement controlled as if he was fighting the urge to rush the male. But seeing as Silas stood with Aurora in his grasp seemed to force Eli to process and choose his actions. The hatred blazing in his sage green eyes as they held the gaze of Aurora’s punisher was nothing compared to what they were to become when his eyes fell to the gashes on her back.
His nostrils flared, his hands balled tightly at his side as they traveled down her to the mess of blood and hair at their feet. His eyes widened for a brief moment when his eyes took in the aftermath.
Eli clenched his jaw so hard it would be a wonder if he did not shatter his teeth. He took a step closer to them, then another, “Are you done?”
It came out as a low rumbled growl. His eyes remained on the back of Aurora’s head, she knew if he saw the look of satisfaction on Silas’ face he would want to put his fist through it.
“Yes, for now.” Silas stepped forward meeting Eli halfway and unceremoniously dumped her into his arms. “You may do your best to heal her if you wish.”
Eli didn’t respond and avoided the male’s gaze. He held her carefully, his arm bracketing her shoulders and waist as he bore her weight.
With her eyes closed Aurora took a deep breath, as deep as she could before flinching, and relaxed against him, almost burrowing in when she realized who held her. She felt his eyes on her, unblinking. She was too tired to look at him.
Stepping back, Silas wiped his hands over his tunic as if whipping away something dirty and as he studied them, noting how Eli cradled Aurora, something wicked danced in his eyes.
“Now that you have her back, you can both get the fuck out of my chamber. Thanks to Aurora, I have some cleaning to do.”
A pained whine left her lips with each step Eli took. The slight jerking movement jarring to her as the blood from her multiple wounds soaked into the sleeve of his shirt.
“Oh one more thing...as fun as this was, Little Bird. I can make it so much more entertaining if you decide today”s lesson wasn’t enough. Try and run again and I will show you some of my less playful toys.” Shouting the last of the words as Eli carried her out of the room. “I’ll give you 48 hours, to lick your wounds then I will expect you back here before the others rise for your next lesson.”
Apologizing to Aurora over and over, Eli walked with a hurried step to get her to her room. He needed to get to work on her back. He knew she wouldn’t have the strength to do it on her own. He had caused this, he thought he was doing the right thing throwing her in at the deep end. Letting her get her bearings and maybe make some friends as he had with Atlas and Khyro, at least find allies that would help her survive her time in the Guild. But she had kept to herself, instead plotting to break free. It was his fault, there was no freedom. Hadn’t he proven that to her by being tracked down after all those years and being forced to return?
Eli began speaking quietly, but Aurora did not respond. He whispered reassurances in the hopes to keep her calm. Still she did not respond. He knew what she must be feeling if she felt anything at all. She would be dizzy and confused. The blood loss causing her body and mind to slow.
In his younger years he too had received lashes as punishment. He had caused a fight with another Guild member after an assignment didn’t go how he wanted. He took his aggravation out on another male, bringing him close to death.
It earned him respect underground and proved to the inner circle that he deserved his position at the top. It also earned him lashes from Silas, he had already not liked the male but the fact that they were close in age made the punishment all the more degrading. He however hadn’t made sure Eli scared, like he did with Aurora. Eli tried to calm his anger, the flame slowly getting hotter the longer he thought about what Silas had done to his Little Wolf.
Eli shook himself, he was sure Aurora felt more tired than she ever had before, her muscles were sure to ache, her skin burning where the shackles had been placed. She was limp in his arms, her smaller wounds were already healing but the bigger ones would need assistance.
They finally arrived at her room, and Eli made quick work of the door gaining them entry. He noticed a bowl of water and a pile of clothes on the table by the bed. Beside them, a jar of healing salve. Either Atlas, Khyro or maybe both must have placed them here for him. He knew of no others willing to risk being in her private space.
He silently shut the door behind them, then crossed the room to the bed. Laying Aurora on her stomach on the soft bed, Eli could truly see the damage Silas had done. Silas had completely carved up her back, she had crisscross lacerations starting at her shoulders that traveled all the way down to her waistline. As Eli studied them, he ignored the roiling in his gut. Wondering if she would have scared anyways without the salt. Surely she wouldn’t have marks as severe, but he had cut her deep over and over again.
Leaning over her he carefully pulled the fabric of her ripped tunic away from her back to expose it all to the cool air of the room. The smell of salt assaulted him and he felt a new wash of rage roar to life.
The bastard!
Not content to whip her and cause her shame by cutting her hair, he had permanently marked her. The wounds would heal, but the scars never would. He would rip the sadistic male limb from limb for the way he had carried out Violet’s order and then he would take the rest of his rage out on the female who had given him permission to hurt his Aurora.
Eli began working on her back, he cleaned the salt from her wounds before applying the salve. With the mineral no longer poisoning her, she would slowly heal, but he knew she would need assistance.
He would need a healer.
He was careful not to cause more pain or irritation than needed but it mattered not.
She was completely unconscious, her body wrung of all its energy, it was depleted. She had shut down, the blood loss had robbed her body of energy and her mind protected itself. Blocking out any further harm that could be caused to her.