The Cursed Deal ✓

Chapter 26

Eliphas was the last to receive his punishment. The remainder of the sinwolves, those that faced the whip before him, were bracing against the burning wounds cut deep into their bodies. Sinwolves were covered in fur, especially on their backs, but that did nothing against a shapeshifter's strength.

The iron tip of the whip was sticky with blood by the time Celestia reached the end of the line and towered over Eliphas without a single bead of sweat having left her brow. Ten lashes. From where Faine stood, she couldn't see the blood on the backs of those wolves, caking into their fur and dripping down their backs. The only evidence of that was the small pitter-patter of the red puddles behind them, soaking into their pants and boots.

They breathed heavy and every ounce of their strength went into keeping themselves upright. Faine decided quickly: she didn't want to be on the other end of that whip. Not ever. If a sinwolf, one of the strongest beasts in Pinedon, couldn't hold their own against ten lashes, there was little chance Faine could stand the test of that iron-tipped whip.

Celestia had done this before. That was clear by the determination in her eyes, the way she held the whip, and the direction in which she delivered those lashes. With such a precision that only years of work could perfect. Not a single hair was out of place on her head and her eyes held the same fire they had when she first walked into the room.

Though the robe she wore had come untied and revealed the white shirt underneath, now stained with blood, that was the only thing out of place on the crime boss of Silver Willow. One of the most hunted and dangerous women in all of Pinedon. Here she was, ripe for the picking, yet poisonous to all those that threatened to graze her with their touch.

Faine looked up at Ilian's face, but he didn't look back. A muscle feathered in his jaw and his brows drew inward. Concern or...preparation. No one wanted to watch this, but it was a requirement of those that joined Silver Willow. They had no choice but to watch in what would be a punishment for them if they weren't careful. Faine was part of that now. Her guts churned with that thought.

The whip groaned in Celestia's hand when she gripped it tight and drew her arm back to deliver the first lash. Eliphas's hands curled into fists and he tightened his jaw. Those simple movements couldn't prepare anyone for what he was about to face, and when the whip came down, he flinched. Eliphas's entire body went rigid and the sound of leather slapping against skin—through the fur—was disgusting in itself.

One lash. Faine took a deep breath and crossed her arms over her chest. It had been after the fifth sinwolf received their punishment that he finally stopped staring at her, silently imagining himself eating her alive and leaving nothing but cracked, brittle bones behind. Fear took over. Two lashes.

He clenched his eyes shut but remained stoic. The crack reverberated through the room and out the open window. Silence met them.

Three lashes.

Faine shifted on her feet and looked to the faces in the room. She was part of this now. She was the reason these sinwolves were on their knees, receiving lashes. The others were practically trembling with the need to lick their wounds. Blood pooled at their ankles; dripped down their shirts. But they didn't look away from the floor. As if they were mourning the beating of another to their side with little knowledge of what they could do to protect others in their pack.

Four lashes. Eliphas growled. He turned his head as if to turn on Celestia but a guard standing off to the side braced his hand against the pommel of a sword at his hip and silently warned the sinwolf that if he attempted anything, he'd face plenty more than ten lashes. Too many closed doors led to hidden rooms with torture devices meant for moments like this. When members of Silver Willow lost their place.