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He turned away, patting my cheek like a child’s. This time, I really did spit at him.
He stilled.
And he laughed.
He fucking laughed at me.
“You’re going to regret that,” he replied softly, and he turned back toward the crowd. His words made my blood run cold and I shivered in my bonds. My Vakarran captors could do nothing. If they spoke up and claimed me, Nix would be angry that they’d kept me a secret. Not only would my fate be sealed, so would theirs. I’d been found in the forest, all alone, by a group of Vakarrans I didn’t know. I’d been stupid enough to get caught. I should have been more careful. I should have done so many things differently.
Nix raised his hand into the air and the entire tent fell into silence.
I waited nervously.
“I bring before you Danika Stryke. A human female who had the audacity to live free, who broke Vakarran law when she didn’t turn herself in. An unforgivable crime,” he began, and I shivered at the implication of his words.
No one said a thing.
“I’m going to be merciful. I’m going to allow her to live, but not without being punished for her crime,” he replied, and he walked over to the side of the stage, where another Vakarran handed him a thick black object.
He unrolled it and for a long moment, I was speechless.
A long, heavy black bullwhip.
He cracked it overhead and the sound echoed, just like a gunshot.
Just like the gunshot that had killed Kaze.
The memories flashed before my eyes, unbidden and unrestrained.
I lost it completely in that moment. I whimpered. I cried. I begged for mercy, all the while muttering Kaze’s name. Taraik’s gaze narrowed in on mine, the concern on his face clear. I struggled in my bonds, feeling the metal edges scrape against my skin, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to get away. I didn’t care if I got hurt in the process. I just wanted out.
Nix moved around me, off to the side a fair distance.
Nix’s arm moved, curling the whip back up and over his head. I heard the swish and I closed my eyes, fearing the lash of such a heavy whip. It would clearly hurt me, maybe even scar me for life. Holding my breath, I waited for the pain, sure it would come.
The whip cracked, the sound deafening, and I stiffened, crying out with fear.
But the punishing whip never connected with my flesh. The crowd was silent, the sound of the lash echoing loud around me, but it never hit me. Never swung against my back.
Slowly, I opened my eyes, almost afraid of what I was about to see.
There, to my left, stood Roan. His arm reached high overhead and, in his fist, was the whip. His fingers curled around its length and my lips fell open in surprise. He must have caught the whip in midair. I hadn’t even known that was possible.
I wondered if all Vakarrans had such strong lightning reflexes or if Roan was special in some way. My eyes met his, and I could see his devotion to me then.
Even before their commander, in that moment, I knew that they would never betray me.
They were mine. I was theirs.
The crowd gasped in fear and that’s when I realized that both Xandaar and Taraik were on either side of Nix, pressing a gun to his head.
Nix looked furious. If looks could kill, all five of us would have been dead. The Vakarrans in the audience moved forward, but Roan jerked the whip hard, pulling it out of Nix’s hand with ease. He gathered it and cracked the lash loudly toward them, stopping all movement.
“Come any closer and my comrades will pull the triggers,” he warned.
No one even dared move after that. Even the human women.
After a long few minutes, Roan began to speak again.
