Page 187 of The Forbidden Dragon King

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For a moment, my vision whites out.

“One,” Caligo counts.

Another lash lands.

“Two…”

It cuts like a knife. Blood trickles down my back.

I grunt, struggling to stand still.

I can take this.

I have to.

It’s only pain.

It can’t touch me.

I won’t let it.

But this…? It’s not only pain. It’s cursed magic, iron, worming into my skin and coiling to tangle with the poison already in my blood. The fire of each blow, which curls around my shoulders, across my upper back, and down to the dip of my lower back, is venomous.

It’s Maximinus branding his control deep into my soul.

It’s the Draca Kingdom biting their fangs into the throat of the Unseelie Kingdom.

“Three… Four… Five…”

I’m shaking but I haven’t cried out.

My cheeks are dry.

“Do you want to beg?” Caligo sounds amused. “Ask for mercy?”

I shake my head.

“Good because I don’t allow that weakness in my academy.”

The whip falls again.

Ten, twenty,thirtystrokes.

I’m panting hard, shocked at the strength of the magic. I’m shuddering, shutting down.

Is this what dying feels like?

I can’t feel my fingers, my feet, or my wings, only the ball of fire that’s my back.

Then the whip slices across the base of my left wing, and finally, I scream.

Above me, I hear the shrill distress calls of my ravens.

My legs buckle, and I swing from my wrists, feeling oneof them dislocate.

I’m panting as I struggle to get my legs back underneath myself.

The whip keeps landing. I choke, unable to catch my breath.

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