Page 20 of How to Keep a Fae

From the first blow, all bets are off. All the air leaves my lungs as Jayga slams me into the ground. “She told me she loved me last night,” he snarls beside my ear.

I buck him off and find reserves to stagger to my feet—hedoes, too. We go at one another with fast, vicious intent. I want him bloody. I want him to hurt.

My fist connects with his gut. His fist connects with my chin. We pummel one another, trading blows, wrestling, slamming each other into the ground. My fingers close around his throat. He jabs my bruised rib.

He rolls above me, landing a blow to my chin that rattles my brain in my skull. I roll above him, my arms swinging and blows landing. Lucky for Jayga, I’ve got little left, and the punches miss their usual edge.

A blow to the back of my ribs catches me by surprise, as does the arm that hooks around my throat.

Distantly, I hear the roar of barked orders as the guards wade in to drag the two of us apart.

My chest saws unsteadily. I hurt everywhere. Blood is leaking into my eye. I blink it away, still wrestling ineffectively for release.

Jayga is several paces away, held back by two guards, chest heaving. One eye is swelling, and there is a distinct bruise circling his neck where I tried to choke him out.

“Back to your training,” Cecil’s command cracks like a whip.

Only now do I realize the crowd of onlookers our antics have gathered.

We really fucked up.

This realization lands like a new blow. There will be consequences, worse ones if they realize what was behind our altercation.

The fight goes out of me. I’m fucking exhausted but also desolate inside.

Cecil looks between us, waiting for an answer, no doubt. Neither of us speaks.

He sighs heavily. “I hoped it would not come to this. Bring them,” he says.

What the fuck does that mean? Panic crawls under my skin, shooting adrenaline through my system and bringing a hammer to my heart rate.

“Where are you taking us?” Jayga demands.

“Silence, warrior,” Cecil snaps. He may be old and have gray hair, but his voice carries authority, and Jayga wisely shuts up.

We are led out of the practice pit, a sense of malaise rising with every step. They take us down and down into the undercroft cells.

I don’t fight them. It would be useless now and only worsen whatever is to come.

A cell door is swung open with a creak. We are led in, positioned side by side, facing the wall. The guards take our wrists, shackling them high above our heads.

I blink fresh sweat and blood from my eyes. A strange calm settles over me, the mania filling my mind banked for now.

I know what will happen next even though I’ve never done anything to warrant this before.

“Ten each,” Cecil says coldly.

Ten? I hear the whistle of the whip, followed by an explosion of pain across my back.

And another. I count them all, grit my teeth, and breathe through it.

The pain takes me to the edge of the madness consuming me. By the time they are done, I am trembling violently. The pain continues to dance across my twitching back in agonizing waves that rob my ability for thought.

When the darkest pain eases, my first thought is that my stepfather will likely hear about this, and maybe my mother too, unless he shields the news from her.

What’s done is done.

Beside me, I hear Jayga’s ragged breathing.

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