he stuffs it into the palm of my hand. When I open my hand and see the blade of a knife, my fingers begin to tremble.
I gasp. “No.”
“No?” My father’s brows rise, but not in a mocking way. It’s more in a daring way, as though he’s threatening me with just a single look.
But I won’t be swayed. Not without proper cause. Not even when the palm of his hand could strike me at any time. I’m not afraid of pain. I’m only afraid of what it would do to me, to my soul, if I made the wrong choice.
So I lift my head high and stand proudly as I gaze at my father towering over me, and say with strength in my voice, “Tell me what he did.”
A tepid but diabolical smile spreads on his lips. “This man …” He leans over and whispers into my ear the very words I wished I’d never heard.
Words that would make any man, woman, or child scream in agony.
Words that ignite your heart into blazing fury until it wants nothing more than to burn anything within its vicinity.
Children. Hundreds. Thousands. Used until they were innocent no more, then slaughtered like animals, leaving nothing but brittle bones for the longing parents wishing their child would come home.
Nothing. Nothing compares to this pain. Not even the searing sun blinding your eyes while your insides were pecked out by vultures.
“There is only one way to make a criminal atone,” my father says. His voice shifts in a way I’ve never heard before, like it’s twisting and contorting as he speaks, almost like a nightmare come true. And if I spoke now, my voice would sound exactly the same.
This is what he wanted me to know. To experience.
The violence, the rage, the perverted reality of our world culminating into one single moment in time when the sinner is not given a second chance, a comforting cell, time spent waiting on a clock ticking by to be free and do it all over again.
No. The pain ends now. It ends here … with me.
“Pain is punishment. Punishment for the unjust, the unworthy, so that they may confess and repent. And if not … they will burn, as they deserve,” Father mutters as he pushes me toward the man, my blood boiling as my hatred seeps deep into my bones. “Now give this man what he is owed.”
Present
With a sigh, I put my book aside and get up. Time to get to work.
I saunter up the stairs and make my way to her room. Tobias just exited another, and he gazes at me with a darkened look on his face.
“Difficult?” I ask.
“It’s never easy,” he replies. “Some are worse than others. Only time will tell if she learns to accept her new situation.” He winks. “As will yours.”
“Hopefully, yes,” I reply.
“She must. There is no other choice,” he replies with a deadly gaze.
I straighten my back. “I know.” He’s being pedantic now.
He nods and clears his throat. “I’ll be downstairs preparing for the next one, so if you need me, let me know.”
“I won’t,” I reply, and I pass him before he can say anything else.
I clear my throat and knock on Amelia’s door.
She doesn’t respond.
I knock again.
“What do you want?”
Not the reply I expected, but good enough.
“I’d like to talk.”
It takes her a while to respond. “Why?”
“You know why,” I reply.
She sighs out loud. “Fine. Come in.”
I fish my key from my pocket and push it into the lock, opening the door. The moment I step inside, she immediately eyes the key in my hand.
Even if I request her permission to enter, I don’t really need it, and she knows that. Asking is merely a part of the chivalry, the courting of her mind. Because what man would ask permission when he can take what he wants freely?
Her eyes sweep up to my face, and I smile in response. In her dark purple gown, she stands in front of the window with her hair braided and pale skin dotted with makeup, looking like a true princess. And I realize at that moment she is the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on.
If only she wasn’t here to be punished.
Chapter 18
Eli
Biting my lip, I close the door behind me and step farther inside. Her eyes travel away from me and out into the garden beyond the barred window. I cock my head and watch her. Her elegant posture almost vanishes into the painted walls as though she