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“No. I can’t,” I whisper, shaking my head. “I’ll take the pain. Thank you, Father,” I insist.
Father Levi sighs as he looks down at me. “Two hours of recitation of the rosary without food or water, Miss Cross. If you pass out, I have ice water in my office which I’ll use to wake you up… and then you’ll be responsible for cleaning the mess and starting over again. Are you sure you want to go down this route?”
Why does he care about why I’m here?Stubbornly, I lift my chin and begin to recite the rosary.
Father Levi rolls his eyes and walks to his office.
“Louder, Miss Cross!” he yells from the door. Taking a deep breath, despite the pain, I comply.
I still don't understand why he is the one to conduct my trials to redemption. I'm not a bad person. Haven't I been punished enough?
LEVI
I finish writing down the first trial for the Initiates, then lean back in my chair and rub my eyes. The lack of sleep and early wake up calls are getting to me. I hope once Bastian, Ash, and Jonas join us, I'll be able to leave this place behind me.
I still don't understand why I was sent here to get close to the Cross’. Mother Superior is a fire breathing old dragon, and her granddaughter, Chastity, is my every fantasy come to life. Sighing, I ask how much temptation a man is supposed to be able to resist.
“Father, may I speak with you for a moment?” Jonas asks, as he enters my office, not waiting for my answer. I grunt and wave towards the chair in front of my desk. He plops down with a sigh and rubs his eyes. He looks exhausted, and I can't blame the kid. He does a lot for this school, and I know his home life keeps him on his toes. He was an easy choice to join the Brotherhood. Him and his friends.
“I'm worried about Ash. He's been angry a lot lately, and is spending time with Bridget and her friends. I know he hasn't broken his oath, but I fear that it's only a matter of time,” Jonas confesses with a sigh.
I groan and massage my temples. This damn virginity pact is so dumb. I understand that in order to be an Adam to their Eve, they need to stay pure, and I did the same back in my year, but it's so stupid.
“I'll talk to him. I won't tell him you came to speak to me, but I'll remind him of the importance of his vows,” I promise. Jonas takes a deep breath and melts into the leather chair with a tired sigh.
“Thank you, Father,” he says softly and I nod. I will do everything in my power to make sure these boys are successful in their initiation into the Locked Souls.
* * *
It'stime for Chastity's next lesson, and the thought of tying her arms behind her back and making her pray on her knees for hours is turning me on. I don't need to wear the robe for these private lessons, but considering I have a massive erection right now, I wear it.
“Father,” she says quietly, bowing her head and following me into my office. We were meeting in my classroom, but I realized that there’s no privacy there. Anyone could come in and witness these sessions, and while they are sanctioned by Mother Cross, what I’m about to do to her granddaughter is not easily explained away.
Breathing deeply, I feel annoyed that she didn’t choose the easy road. Everyone deserves their privacy, but that doesn’t exist here. We are tasked with molding the minds of these young adults, and that means regular bed checks in exchange for room, board, and an education.
Looking over at Miss Cross, I wonder why she needs these sessions. What did she do that’s so terrible that her grandmother is truly worried about the state of her soul? These punishments are so damn archaic, especially today’s.
Swallowing hard, I walk to my desk.
“Please, close my door behind you and lock it, Miss Cross. This is going to be a more involved and intense session, and I don’t want us to be disturbed,” I tell her gruffly.
Nodding almost numbly, she locks the door and follows behind me. It’s been several days of this, and she just takes it. She’s never once asked to stop, has never asked for mercy. Anyone else would have passed out without water the first night of punishment, but she held strong. There were tears streaming down her face, her nose was running, and her legs collapsed from under her from the lack of feeling. But she kept praying.
I couldn’t witness seeing her like that any longer, and I hightailed it out of my own office, and came back to lock up after she left. I couldn’t handle how pitiful she looked, and I have no idea how she managed to limp back to her grandmother’s apartment on her own, which is farther than the dormitories.
However, I am trying to harden my heart against any misguided feelings I have for this girl, because the punishments are ramping up in severity.
Clearing my throat, I say, “Please come here, Miss Cross, and do exactly as I say. Is that understood?”
I open my desk drawer and pull out a retractable cane. Fully extending it, I place it on the desk, not looking at her as she walks over to me. Keeping my breath even, I pull out a belt, and Chastity flinches again, gasping.
I glance over at her, and she’s so pale, I worry she’ll pass out before I even start.
Why was she okay with everything else about our punishment, but she flinches away from this?
I have heard talk over the years about how strict and stern her father is, and wonder how he acted with his own daughter. He is very religious, and I expect he learned a lot of this from his own mother-in-law. Being that Mother Cross is sanctioning these punishments, I’m sure his wife had told him some of what it was like growing up under her roof.
“You know, all you have to do is consent to confession, and all of this can end,” I tell her again. Sure I’ll get into trouble with Mother Cross, but even the girl’s lips have lost their color.
