Page 185 of The Forbidden Dragon King
“I’m not dead yet.” My wings vibrate with fury.
“Yet,” Caligo mocks with deliberate emphasis. “You also broke more rules on the first trial than any previous student.”
“Do I win a prize, sir?”
“Congratulations, you do. One hundred and fifty of them.”
Inside, shame shudders through me, as Caligo yanks me around and shoves me against the hard wood of the whipping post. Then he grips my hands and drags them above my head to bind them into the iron cuffs that hang from the top. I clench my teeth, as the iron burns my wrists.
I am a king but I am being tied before these commoners like they have any right to touch me.
As Quintus thought that he had the right.
As Tiberius did.
They were wrong, however, and I’ll make Caligo pay for it too. He is on my list of those who will be shown the path down to the Shadow Devils by my hand, before all this is over.
I swear it on the sacred ash.
Suddenly, I feel something winding around my ankles.
I glance downward, catching Five’s confused gaze. She meows, questioningly.
Then she rubs against me, narrowing her eyes at Caligo.
“It’s fine, good girl,” I whisper quickly to Five, not wanting her to get caught in this. “Don’t attack. Go on.”
I hate that this may be the last time that I see her, as well as Freya.
Freya promised to take on both Five and me. Will she keep an eye on Five — love her — if I’m forced to leave her today?
When I eventually die from the iron poisoning?
Reluctantly, Five turns and stalks to sit in front of Freya, casting me a final glance. Freya breaks position to stroke my cat’s head.
I try to twist my body, but Caligo slams me hard against the post, before he wrenches my left wing and then my right above my head, binding them with rope to keep them out of the way for the flogging.
Although, the whip will still land on the base of my sensitive wings, and that will bloody hurt.
I swallow hard at the dragon’s sickening touch on my wing. No fae would ever touch your wing without permission. When three of my ravens dive, as if ready to peck out Caligo’s eyes in retaliation, I shake my head at them. Unwillingly, they flap back into the sky.
Caligo grabs the collar of my shirt, yanking it down the middle.
The sound, as it rips from the top to the bottom, echoes around the courtyard.
I flinch.
I calculated that this would happen if I saved Freya.
Killing for the person you love is easy. Suffering, even dying for them, is much harder.
That’s true love.
Caligo pushes the sides of the shirt apart and then laughs.
It sets my teeth on edge.
“Look at all these ugly scars.” Caligo reaches out to trace the line of a raised scar that runs between my shoulder blades. “I always knew that fae were cowardly fuckers. You must have so many on your back because you were always running away from battles.”
