Page 17

A fter inhaling their supper, they walked into the Incantations room. Prince Demetrius was not at supper, so she half expected him not to show up for class.

Like yesterday, the fifth years were lounging on the desks, deep in conversation.

“Ah, I see we are mostly in attendance. Why don’t you find your groups and set off.”

Taran sidled upto Lilith. “Where is he?” she asked him.

“Probably wrapping up some duty or whatever. Let’s head to the library.” Taran steered them down to their private sanctuary.

“You seem preoccupied,” he asked.

“No matter how hard I try, I’m destined to fail.”

“Are you talking about this competition?”

“Yes and no.”

“Well, in terms of the competition, I can tell you it doesn’t matter if you win or lose. You’ll have other chances for proving your worth. This is more for the fifth years, than for us first years. ”

“You’re right. It’s just hard to come to terms with. I’m used to excelling.” She made her way to her sparring spot. “Well, let’s practice.”

The prince came in as they prepared to start their sparring. “I like the enthusiasm, but we’ve been summoned to the hall.”

“Why?” Taran probed.

“I do know, but I’m afraid you’ll have to wait and see.

” The prince escorted them to the hall. Students from the second, third and fourth years were already assembled, lined up in neat rows.

Taran and Lilith went to stand with their class, as the prince strode to the front to line up with his class.

Lord Helmer was at the front waiting for the students to file in.

When the hall was full he called for attention.

“I have called for this gathering so that you will witness a punishment. Bring forth the student.” Sir Tornbury walked Bear down the aisle. Tornbury carried a whip, while Bear looked disheveled. His skin blotchy and red with gnarly scars peeking from under his shirt.

Lilith glared at him as he walked past. She was sure he would be in worse condition after what she did.

It looked as if someone had tried to heal him.

If it were me in charge, I would have left him to rot.

Thought Lilith as she stole a glance at Verrona.

She was standing a couple spaces down, between Meira and Juniper.

Gone was the confident Siren, in her place was a shell of her usual beautiful self.

Lilith motioned for Meira to switch spots, which she reluctantly did.

As she stood next to Verrona, she quietly reached out and intertwined their hands.

“Bear Bornstrong, you are found guilty of attacking and sexually assaulting an unarmed student. You will suffer twenty-five lashings and be stripped of any accolades that you gained here. You will be sent home in disgrace. Sir Tornbury, you may start.”

Students began to murmur while Sir Tornbury moved Bear to stand in front of him.

He tore open the back of his black uniform and unwound a long black whip.

His back was in worse condition than she expected.

Burn scars spanned most of the flesh exposed.

Any strikes to this tender area would feel like torture.

Lilith internally smirked. Bear glared at Lilith and Verrona as the crack of the first whip lashed against his back.

It was on the third lashing that his eyes closed and he fell to his knees.

He let out a cry at the ninth lashing as he kneeled in a pool of his own blood.

By the fifteenth crack of the whip, Lilith could see that Bear was losing his hold on his consciousness.

She looked at her fellow classmates. Some had their eyes closed.

Verrona watched, unblinking. Her hand was no longer shaking, but held Lilith’s in a vice grip.

Lilith knew the pain and fear she must have felt.

It would have been similar to when Lord Elwin cursed her.

This took her to a dark place in her mind.

She relived the feeling of loneliness and desperation for someone to help, begging for the pain to stop.

Verrona rubbed her thumb against her hand which took her out of her spiral.

Would this satisfy her revenge? There would be no mistaking the direction of Bear’s glare.

The fifth years and first years knew that Bear was partnered with Verrona.

Her class knew she had missed the morning run.

They would know what transpired between them, that Verrona was the student Bear had attacked.

However, he also glared at Lilith. They would no doubt ask about her role in this.

Lilith refocused on the lashings. Sir Tornbury was an experienced soldier, his body and stature were defined by a lifetime of training.

To be on the receiving end of his might would be a different level of torture.

He did not hold back in the punishment. After the twenty-fifth strike was delivered, Bear laid in a pool of his own blood and urine. His back was mutilated.

Lord Helmer waited. He let the students soak in the extent of this punishment before he spoke: “We must uphold ourselves in a manner that is honourable. We teach you the foundations of being leaders, members of society that have power over others. If you abuse those powers, you are undeserving. The crime this student committed befitted the actions of an animal. Do not pity him. He deserves far worse than what he received. Students are dismissed. Return to your class and let this serve as a warning.” The fifth years uniformly filed out, followed by the fourth, third, second and then Lilith's year.

She gave one final look at Bear and then at Lord Helmer and Sir Tornbury, their faces etched with exhaustion.

Verrona stood next to Lilith, stock still.

“Are you okay, Verrona?” Lilith whispered.

“No. But I will be. One day.” Verrona walked ahead and disappeared from the hall.

The minute she exited the hall, Taran had pulled on her elbow to move aside. “Why did he look at you like that?” he asked.

As she had suspected this would happen, she replied, “I was the one that found Bear. I found him while he was…”

Taran’s eyes went huge. “Holy gods. Did he harm you?” She levelled him with a look.

“No.”

She said no more and started for the stairs to the library. Prince Demetrius was waiting for them to arrive .

“Good. Let’s start.” He walked over to the old armchair and gracefully sat.

“Are we not going to talk about what just happened?” Taran asked as he walked to his cousin.

“No. I see no point in discussing it. The student council was made aware of the nature of his crimes.” He paused and regarded Lilith who was standing quietly by the library entrance. “We were the ones that voted for his punishment.”

There’s a student council? He obviously is on it. She knew very little about the workings of the school. Is there a handbook that I can read? She realized he was probably hearing her thoughts. Well I’m in favour of whoever came up with the punishment.

Prince Demetrius gave her a coy smile. He was indeed listening to her thoughts.

She put up her mental shield. “You would have voted for a harsher punishment,” he answered her.

Taran looked between them, clearly irritated.

He went to stand at his sparring spot, while Lilith moved to hers.

She immediately shot a fireball at him and then moved fast to get next to him.

He was shielding himself from the oncoming fireball, as she used it as decoy and tackled him to the ground.

She felt for that electricity she had used on Bear and bathed Taran in it. He screamed and yielded.

“That will only work once. You’ll have to come up with something else for the others.” The prince was leaning his head in his hand. “You have speed as your advantage. For now.”

They continued sparring until the prince decided he had had enough and dismissed them. She closely trailed behind him .

He loudly sighed and stopped walking. “Is there something you want or are you going to follow me to my room?” He turned to face her, giving her a menacing smile. “I’m all ears.”

Lilith tried her hardest to give him a flirtatious smile. “About your proposition.”

Demetrius paused, taken aback by her appearance. Quickly recovering, Demetrius raised his hand. “Stop. That was horrible. Don't try that on anyone else.”

Misunderstanding his reply, she turned red and clenched her fists by her side. “You said you could help me with my, uh, problem.” She lifted her hands to show her runes on her shoulder. “You wanted something in return for helping me. I’ll hear you out.”

“Oh, the things I could ask for.” He leaned into her. Lilith blushed harder. “I could make you beg.”

Annoyed, she stepped back. “Forget I asked.” She turned around.

“Easy. I’m just playing.” He gently grabbed her wrist to stop her from walking away. “As a matter of fact, I have a special job for you. I need a spy.”

“A spy? For what?” she asked, as all her concentration was on his hand still touching hers.

“I’ll let you know that once you agree to work for me.” He let her go, to her slight dismay.

“How exactly can you help me?” She tilted her head up to look into his eyes. It felt as if he could pierce her soul with his stare.

“I know how to read your runes. Better yet, I will help you find out how to get rid of them.” He looked softly at her .

Lilith hummed, considering her options. “Working for you, will I be in danger? Will I have to fight?”

“No. All you have to do is watch a target from afar and then report back to me. Do we have a deal?” He held his hand out for a shake.

She shook his hands. He had rough working hands. “I’ll work for you after the tournament. Deal.”

He clasped her hand and lifted it to his face. “Deal.” He sealed it with a kiss on her hand. His lips left a tingling sensation on her hand and her heart fluttered as she took in his charm. Reading her thoughts, he smirked then sauntered off.

Lilith used her extra time to wander around the fort and watch her competitors. There were only a few weeks left until they would face off.