IVY'S POV
For a single, fragile moment, everything stilled.
The coin lying between us like a verdict no one dared disturb. Then the world broke. The sound didn't crash all at once; it crept in, layered and suffocating, voices rising from every direction until they filled my head completely.
"Left!"
"She lost!"
"Strip the shameless bitch!"
"Parade her naked!"
My breath stopped, not slowed, not staggered, but completely stolen from my lungs. My fingers were still curled tightly around the coin, pressing it into the stone as though I could force it to change, as though I hadn't just watched it betray me.
Left. I had lost. Something inside my chest gave way with a hollow drop that tilted the world off balance, leaving me numb, unable to feel my legs or anything beyond the crushing weight of their voices pressing in from all sides.
Beside me, Elara let out a broken, trembling sob, the sound of relief tearing through a body stretched too close to its limits.
I turned just enough to see her father rush forward, pulling her into his arms as she collapsed against him, clinging like someone dragged back from the edge of death.
I stared at them for a second too long, something tight twisting inside me, before the noise swallowed everything again.
"Punish her!"
"Make her pay!"
"Strip her now!"
Mr. Sebastian didn't move at first. His gaze shifted,not to me, but to Father. I followed it instinctively, my pulse faltering as Father gave a small, controlled nod, the kind that didn't need words.
That was all it took.
My stomach dropped sharply as two men stepped forward, large and imposing, their presence heavy in a way that felt immediately dangerous.
One of them carried a long rod that crackled faintly, thin arcs of dark energy snapping along its length with a low, unsettling hum.
My body reacted before my mind could catch up.
No.
Not again.
Not....
They grabbed me.
My arms were wrenched back as fingers dug into my skin, dragging me across the stone. My knees scraped harshly against the ground, pain flaring sharply, but it barely registered. My head felt too light, my pulse uneven, my thoughts slipping in and out like something struggling to stay conscious.
Not after everything.
The tree came into view too quickly, a thick, ancient trunk at the edge of the clearing, its bark dark and ridged like it had witnessed far too much. They slammed me against it, the impact knocking what little air I had left from my lungs, and before I could recover, my wrists were forced upward. The rope bit into my skin, rough and unforgiving, pulled tight until my arms burned from the strain.
I barely had time to inhale before the first shock hit.
It wasn't pain, not at first. It was light. White, blinding, violent light that tore through me so fast my body couldn't understand it, couldn't process it before it exploded into something unbearable. A scream ripped out of me, raw and uncontrolled, as my back arched violently against the ropes, every muscle locking as the current surged through me.
It felt like my bones were splitting open from the inside, like something sharp and merciless was clawing its way through my veins.
The crowd roared in approval.
"Again!"
"Harder!"
"Make her feel it!"
The rod pressed into me again, lower this time, dragging fire across my ribs and down my side. My body jerked helplessly, legs kicking against nothing, toes barely brushing the ground as the current tore through me a second time.
I couldn't breathe, I couldn't even form a full thought before another shock followed, snapping my head back against the tree as my vision fractured into white bursts.
The welts on my back tore open with the force of it, fresh blood sliding down my skin as my body convulsed again, weaker now, slower to respond.
"Stop…" The word slipped out of me, barely sound. "Please…"
No one listened.
The rod moved again, my thigh, my arm, then higher and when it struck too close to my chest, something inside me stuttered. My heartbeat faltered, then slammed back erratically, wrong in a way that made panic spike even through the pain.
The world began to slip, voices blurring into something distant and distorted as my body sagged against the ropes, trembling violently with no strength left to resist.
I can't…
Not like this…
Not here…
Not in front of them…
Another surge hit, smaller, duller, like it belonged to someone else. My head dropped forward, my vision dimming at the edges until everything softened into darkness.
And then nothing.
SERAPHINA'S POV
******
The moment she went limp, the tone of the crowd shifted, not quieter, but sharper, more cutting, as if disappointment had replaced anticipation.
"She's weak."
"That's all it takes?"
"Strip her now!"
I didn't move. I sat beside Lucas with my hands folded neatly on my lap.
I was trying to observe the slow unraveling of a girl beneath the full weight of the clan's judgment.
Moonlight spilled across the clearing in cold silver, catching on the blood along her back, the torn fabric clinging uselessly to her skin. She looked smaller like this, fragile in a way she hadn't before, as though whatever held her together had finally given out.
It would have been easy to let it continue.
Too easy.
My gaze lingered a moment longer than necessary, following the faint rise and fall of her chest, uneven but still there.
Still breathing.
Good.
Below, the men loosened the ropes, and her body dropped instantly, knees buckling as they caught her under the arms and dragged her forward like something already discarded.
The crowd surged again, louder now, uglier, voices rising into a single hungry demand.
"Strip her!"
"Make her walk!"
"Let her beg!"
The sound was predictable, disappointingly so.
Beside me, Lucas remained still, but I could feel the tension coiled beneath his composure, see it in the way his fingers dug into the arm of his throne, the wood creaking faintly under the pressure.
He had allowed it to go this far further than most fathers would, further than he should have, but not without cost.
Below, the men's hands moved to what remained of her gown, fingers hooking into the torn fabric, ready to rip it away completely.
I watched quietly.
And then unexpectedly, Lucas rose.
"DO NOT TOUCH HER!"