sson i

velvet, dust, and a faint, sickly perfume. The only sounds were the clatter of wheels, the jingle of harnesses, and the furious beat

y moment of the attack, searching for weakness, for something she could use. Raymond's smug face, his clean armor in the middle of the ruin-it was all a

by the rose garden that Father said never locked right. Remember Porter's face. Remember Mo

urtyard, but into a yawning mouth of torch-lit stone. A dungeon entrance, cut into the side of a mountain fortress: Ray

t bored here; they were watchful and cold. They marched her down slippery stone steps, deeper into the earth. The sounds of the world above faded,

ey thread of daylight. A pile of stale straw lay in one corner for a bed. A bucket sat in t

e door slammed shut. The lock t

A deep and te

learned their footsteps: the heavy drag of the jailor, Brutus, and the light, skipping step of the boy who brought her watery gruel and hard brea

marked only by the pale

huffle or the boy's quick steps. This was a confident, measured wa

single storm-grey eye looked in

velvet and silk. He looked like a nobleman visiting his wine cellar. He held

colder. "I hear you've been troubling my warden. Refusing meals. Staring t

ting now was just pointless theater. She let them lead her out into a

on rings were set into its sides. Chains hung from the walls. A brazier glowed in one corner, heating iro

om her shoulders. The cold, damp air touched her skin. She was forced forward, pressed against the cold and sticky wood. Leathe

. I am stone. I am

ional. "Obedience grows from understanding. And understanding requires... clarity." He paused by the brazier. When he tur

hear you speak as I whip you. You will name your wrongs. You

cheek pressed to

y i

, her voice flat, empty

p-CR

cross her back. The pain was so shocking, so total

, calm, almost teacher-like. "You defied me in t

er. Not here. "I... have been a bad gi

nded just below the first

r Raymond's rule

n Master Raym

AC

punished for

offense." Each word was a st

AC

and just." His voice h

e swallowed it. "Master R

mand cracked like

, landing on already screaming nerves. The pain blu

R!" he

the words tearing her throat raw. It was

came faster now, a storm of overlappi

whimper, born of broken flesh, a desperate plea

room, broken only by her ragged sobs and the sof

omething like approval. He reached out and, with a gentleness more violating than any blow, brushed

ly." He straightened and tossed the whip to a servant waiting in the shadows. "Wash h

glance, his boots clic

Her legs gave way, and they caught her, their hands impersonal. They half-carri

her torn back, the water stinging like new fire, C

He needs the words more than the breaking. He wants me cleaned and brought to him

salve. Constantina bit the inside

ourtship. He wants to conquer my mind, to make me willi

ked dress of dark grey wool, fine but severe. It was a u

ch-lit halls toward the upper keep, Constan

othe it, even talk to it. And every time you look at me, you will see not just your prize, but

back of her hand. The pain was a cloak she now w

is almost right. Learn his fortress. Learn his routines. Learn him. Your revenge will not be a

door of polished oak, carved with the snarl

voice, smooth and inv

polished wood and gold, the smell of roasted meat a

squared her shoulders against the fire ragi

of her schoo