Page 152 of Barbi and the Villain

“What would you have me do?” he asks Elijah and Jeya.

“Instead of being banished out of the Sanctuary, you can be confined to our jail for one year and withstand one hundred lashings,” Jeya states.

My eyes flare up.

“Confined? Jail? One hundred lashings? Hell no! What is wrong with you people?” I shout, trying to pull out of Nykander’s embrace.

“Those are our rules.”

“Let’s leave,” I whisper. “I’m sorry. We should have left when you said so. I made it worse, didn’t I?”

“It’s fine, Barbs. One year is not so long,” he murmurs softly.

“It might not be for you, but it is for me!” For God’s sake, he’s already been in that dungeon for years on end. Now he wants to repeat that? No, no. I will not allow it!

“It will be all right?—”

“What if I find another man in that time? One year is a long time. Women have needs too,” I say saucily, thinking that might rile him up a little.

His lips twitch in a smile.

“Might I remind you that you are a virgin, Barbs?”

“So? Virgins have needs too,” I huff.

“Is that so? And what needs would that be?”

“Uhm, that…” I stammer, blushing furiously.

“Guards, take him,” Jeya announces.

Six men stride toward us. Before I can think of something else to say to convince Nykander that getting jailed for one year isn’t the way to go, a loud sound erupts in front of us.

Nykander pulls me tighter against his body, shielding me.

As the dust settles, I peek through the tightness of his embrace to see what happened. A newcomer has appeared, and a gasp leaves my mouth when I recognize her.

She’s the woman from my dream. Herwa.

Upon seeing her, everyone falls to their knees, bowing deeply to her—including Elijah and Jeya.

“High Priestess.” The crowd murmurs the words reverently.

Nykander freezes next to me.

“What happened here?” she asks, looking at Elijah.

“A violation of rules, High Priestess. We have given them the choice to leave the Sanctuary or spend a year in confinement as punishment,” he murmurs, his head bent down.

“And what was the rule violation?” She raises a brow.

“He cut the tongue of one of our own, Mr. Foerie.”

“He did it to avenge my honor,” I blurt out, my voice high-pitched in an effort to talk over Elijah before he smears Nykander’s character even more. Okay, so technically he did something wrong. But how can I blame him when he was doing it for me? Perhaps it was a little bloody and violent, but it’s the sentiment behind it that counts. He wanted to punish someone who was mean to me. How can he get even more swoon-worthy than that?

The High Priestess turns to me, her head tilted to the side as she studies me.

“Continue.”

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