Then she got bored.
“Clean the place,” she said, waving her hand dismissively. “All of it. I don’t want to see a single spot left untouched.”
All of it.
Ground floor. Stairs. Rooms. Top floor.
I didn’t argue.I just started.
I wiped floors, scrubbed surfaces, cleaned glass, and carried things back and forth until my arms felt heavy and useless. Every movement hurt, but I kept going. Time blurred, and at some point I stopped thinking.
Just move. Just finish. Just don’t stop.
When I finally finished, I stood there quietly, waiting.
She walked through the space slowly, looking around, then clicked her tongue.
“This is what you call clean?” she said, her tone filled with disgust. “Are you blind, or just stupid?”
My chest tightened.
“I’ll redo it,” I said.
She laughed, a short and sharp sound.
“No,” she said. “You don’t get to fix it that easily.”
She turned slightly.
“Bring it,” she ordered.
Someone stepped forward behind me, and before I could react, they grabbed my hands, rough and tight. Something hard pressed against my fingers.
Wood.
My breath caught.
“Wait—”
Too late.
They tightened it.
Pain exploded through my fingers so suddenly I couldn’t even process it. It felt like my bones were being crushed slowly and deliberately. I gasped, my body jerking forward as a broken sound escaped me.
Cassandra watched, calm and attentive, as if this was nothing more than a passing moment.
“This is what happens,” she said, her voice steady and almost bored, “when someone forgets their place and tries to act above it.”
The pressure increased.
I couldn’t hold it in anymore.
A scream tore out of my throat, raw and uncontrollable, echoing through the room.
It hurts! It hurt so much.
My vision blurred, my body shaking, but they didn’t stop. Not until I couldn’t even tell where the pain ended anymore.
…
By the time Reed showed up to take me back, I was barely holding on.
My body felt heavy, my hands throbbed, my back burned, and every breath hurt. I didn’t even know how long I’d been there. Cassandra looked at me before I left, her lips curving into a slow, cold smile.
“Look at you,” she said, tilting her head. “You’re still alive. That’s impressive.”
Her eyes dropped to my hands, then back to my face.
“When you get back,” she continued, her voice soft but sharp underneath, “you know what to say and what not to say, right? Or do I need to remind you again?”
I lowered my head.
“I understand,” I said quietly.
She stepped closer.
“No, I don’t think you do,” she murmured. “Let me make it clearer. If you open your mouth and say anything you shouldn’t… even a single word… I won’t just hurt you next time. I’ll make sure you beg for death and still don’t get it.”
My fingers trembled slightly.
“I won’t say anything,” I repeated.
She smiled.
“Good. That’s what I like to hear.”
Then she waved her hand dismissively.
“Take her away. She’s making the place look ugly.”
Reed didn’t say much when he helped me out, just a quiet look, a tight jaw, controlled anger he didn’t show. We went straight back.
Ezekiel was already in his room, sitting behind his desk, going through documents like nothing else existed. He didn’t even look up when we walked in.
“You’re back,” he said flatly. “How was your time with Cassandra?”
I opened my mouth, but I didn’t get to answer.
“Boss!” my friend rushed forward, dropping to her knees so fast it echoed. “You have to do something! Elowyn was tortured! Cassandra didn’t just punish her, she went too far! Her hands… they almost—”
“Enough.”
Ezekiel’s voice cut through her instantly.
He finally looked up, not at me, but at her, his eyes sharp.
“Take her out,” he said. “Twenty lashes.”
My friend froze.
So did I.
My heart dropped.
“No—” I forced myself forward despite the pain and dropped to my knees. “Boss, this has nothing to do with her. She just spoke out of turn. Don’t punish her for this, please—”
His gaze shifted to me, annoyed.
“Nothing to do with her?” he repeated slowly. “She just accused someone who’s about to stand beside me publicly. You call that unrelated?”
My chest tightened.
“She didn’t mean it like that—”
“She spoke,” he cut in. “And what she said crosses the line. That’s enough.”
Future… beside him.
So that’s how it is.
Even words against Cassandra weren’t allowed.
Not even a little.
I swallowed hard, then lowered myself further until my forehead touched the floor.
“Then let me take it,” I said quietly. “Punish me instead. She doesn’t deserve this.”
There was a pause, heavy and dangerous.
“Elowyn,” he said, his voice colder now, “are you going against me?”
I didn’t move.
“I’m asking you to let me take it,” I repeated. “Please.”
Silence stretched.
“Fine.”
The word hit hard.
“If you want it so badly, you can have it,” he said. “Take her place. Twenty strokes.”
My back went stiff.
“Take her out,” he added, already looking back down at his desk. “Make it count.”
They dragged me out before I could think anymore.
Then it started.
The first hit landed across my back, sharp and heavy, knocking the air out of me. I bit down hard.
Second.
Third.
Each one tore through me, pain spreading deeper and hotter until I couldn’t tell where it started or ended.
Don’t make a sound.
Don’t make a sound.
I clenched my teeth harder.
By the time it ended, I wasn’t sure how I was still conscious.
They dragged me back to my room after.
I didn’t even feel the ground properly anymore.
Just… weight.
Darkness.
