Page 64 of Tarnished Crown

“That could kill--” Yuriy broke in, but Samu silenced the younger man with a look.

“Is this your will, Your Grace?” Samu asked.

Ava went to kneel before the duke, placing her hands on his and speaking to him in Socairan.

The duke looked between his wife and me with some confusion before nodding, uttering a few harsh-sounding words. I didn’t need a translation to know that he had just agreed.

The open horror on Yuriy’s face said it all.

CHAPTER44

Public floggings had been outlawed in Lochlann for some time now.

Of course, they were common enough in Socair to have a special designated post for them, right in the middle of the estate grounds.

That’s where Samu chained me.

My hands were stretched above my head, and I had just enough room to touch my feet to the snowy ground. They hadn’t even bothered to remove my dress, which was unfortunate, since the deep green was one of my favorites, reminding me of my father’s eyes and my mother’s trees and everything that represented home.

Distantly, I knew that wasn’t what I should be worried about.

Yuriy had said this might kill me.

Did people really die from whipping? I didn’t know.

I knew that it hurt.

Badly.

Yuriy wasn’t here now, though. Perhaps they had taken him away for punishment, after all. I hoped not.

Still, I was not without an audience. A vast crowd of soldiers looked on, some I recognized. Though their faces were largely carved into neutrality, I saw defiance there, too, and even concern.

Of course, others were openly mocking, leering, waiting to relish this moment and watch as the embodiment of everything they hated and blamed and disdained was punished for the perceived sins of my people.

Waiting to watch me break.

And then there was Ava.

Violent shivers took hold of my body, but I knew it had nothing to do with the icy wind. I took a few deep breaths through my nose and swallowed back a lump of fear, my hands shaking so badly that the chains rattled together. Fia’s words returned to me.To give them a reaction is to give them power.

I would not scream.

I will not scream.

But even after the sharp crack of a whip rang out in warning, I was unprepared for the blinding pain that followed. The leather sliced through the back of my dress and into my flesh in a single vicious stroke.

A strangled gasp tore from my throat.

Ava came to stand in front of me, the indifference of her features somehow more terrifying than malice would have been. I searched her eyes--my sister’s eyes--for any hint of humanity, but there was nothing.

Her voice was even emptier when she spoke in a tone too low for the surrounding crowd to hear. “In the unlikely event that you survive this, remember that there is nowhere in this kingdom I can’t reach. Whenever you consider breathing a word about anything you think you know, I want you to think about your precious cousin in Elk, and how much he might enjoy this same treatment.”

A bitter cold seeped into my bones.

“Why do you hate me?” I gritted out.

“Your family took everything from me. I merely hope to return the favor one day.” Her mouth tightened into a thin line, and she turned to walk away before I could respond.