Chapter 64: The Chambers, Part 2

I don't want to believe it, but deep down I know it to be true. I gaze at the whip in his hand. It looks nothing like the whips I saw in the unfortunate camp. It lacks metal accents and has no pieces of bone strapped to its delicate tips. Still, it looks like it can do a fair bit of damage.

Kade brandishes the whip, lifting it above his shoulder, and brings it down with more power than I imagined him capable of. It snaps against her skin with a crack so loud it hurts my ears. It takes her a second to feel it. Her shrill scream comes a heartbeat later. It gets louder and louder until she catches her lips between her teeth and swallows as much of it as she can.

Thirteen. She's supposed to endure thirteen of these lashings? I choke down my own pain in fear of making it worse for her. Selfishly, in fear of making it worse for myself.

I look at Kade. If it's something he doesn't want to do, I can't tell by looking at him. The expression on his face gives no indication of how he might be f