Lord d’Refan simply inclined his dark head in my direction.
“I have a room for each of the opposite powers—one for Fire and Water, another for Earth and Air, a third for Creation and Destruction. This”—he gestured to the space with his hand—“is obviously for Pain and Pleasure.”
I didn’t say anything as I continued to catalogue the details of the space that I missed during my initial shock. There were desks in the very back of the room, along with two tables that looked like they belonged in the mess hall. A few bookcases filled with instruments and worn leather books. At the very end, nearest the mess hall tables, was a final door.
“I keep each of the powers separate because each person needs something . . . specific to their power to Awaken with one, or both, powers. As a Pleasure and possibly Pain affinity, you would not react to the same stimuli as a Fire and Water Mage. And vice versa,” Lord d’Refan continued, his eyes never leaving the man on the table.
I focused my gaze there as well, curious to see how he was coping with the trauma inflicted on his body.
Narrowing my eyes, I noticed that he wasn’t really a man. If he were any older than me, I would be surprised. My eyebrows rose as I quickly catalogued the ages of the men and women in the room. None of them looked over the age of twenty.
“They have to be young for this experiment. Not just Pain and Pleasure affinities—all of the affinities. The body is more resilient, more likely to bend the way we want it to when the subject is younger,” he explained. “And once someone has Awakened, their ability to Awaken a second affinity is nonexistent.”
I nodded.
It made sense, logically, but my gut roiled at the thought.
Clearly, soon,Iwould be one of those subjects. I shuddered at the thought before focusing again on the man on the table.
His skin was a sickly white, like he had lost too much blood or overexerted himself. As I watched, his body began to tremor and then convulse. His eyes rolled in the back of his head, and his mouth began to foam as blood trickled from his nose.
The longer I watched, the more forceful the convulsing became and, suddenly, the straps on the table made sense.
Blood began seeping from his eyes and ears in earnest, and he made deep, throaty gasping noises.
Yet no one moved to help him.
No one approached the man as he suffered.
My palms began to sweat and I shifted on my feet, unable to tear my eyes away from the man even though I so desperately wanted to. The man shook so hard the table rattled, and still, no one approached.
One of the men in black robes looked up from his conversation at one point and made a note in his leather journal, but otherwise, life continued as normal. Other men and women were fucked and stabbed as they climaxed, and this man bled and convulsed.
His gagging became so loud, I could no longer ignore it.
“Is anyone going to help him?” I thrust one sweaty palm in the direction of the man, my voice cracking in my rising panic.
Lord d’Refan simply raised one dark eyebrow at me as the table shuddered in front of us.
“What is happening to him?” I whispered
“He’s Awakening.” Lord d’Refan’s response was blasé at best, entirely unconcerned with what was happening to one of his subjects.
“Awakening? That’s . . . that’s not how it’s supposed to look,” I muttered the last part to myself.
“No, it’s not. But it’s what happens when someone is forced to Awaken early. Especially under the . . . conditions here.”
I dropped my hand to my side with athwack, utterly flabbergasted at the pure lack of emotion from Lord d’Refan.
Is that what’s going to happen tome?
For the first time in over a year, I contemplated my decision to stay at the Academy.
Finally, the man’s shaking subsided. His head lolled to the side, his neck no longer stiff and straining. The blood from his eyes, ears, and nose slowed, and his whole body relaxed.
I held my breath, waiting for him to open his eyes, for his magic to Awaken. Forsomethingto happen. It seemed that I wasn’t the only one waiting to see what would happen—a quickglance showed that both Lord d’Refan and General d’Alvey had their gazes pinned on the man as well.
Open your eyes. Wake up!I pleaded.
