Page 99 of House of Crimson Cloak and Silver Teeth

Another Arbiter arrives within the hour. A fae named Mara with cold eyes and a colder heart. She reviews the evidence and listens to Ravence’s complaint.

“One hundred lashes,” she declares. “For destruction of property and interference with legal contracts.”

Shade doesn’t flinch or react at all.

But I do.

“I’ll take half,” I say before I can stop myself.

Mara looks at me like I’m an insect. “You weren’t involved.”

“He’s my friend. Let me—”

“Silence.” She turns to her guards. “Take them both back to the guild. The boy gets his hundred lashes. This one—“ She gestures at me. “… fifty, for speaking out of turn.”

They drag us back through Tiamat’s streets, back to the guild compound. The punishment hall is the place where disobedience is answered with pain.

Other Grimsbanes are already gathering. Word has spread. They come to watch and remember what happens when you break the rules.

They strip Shade’s shirt and chain him to the post in the center. Mara requests to deliver the punishment herself. She doesn’t delegate this to subordinates or guards.

Shepherd volunteers to strike me. Better him than someone who’d enjoy it. They chain me to a post off to the side. The first lash falls across my back. Pain explodes like lightning. I bite down on the leather strap they gave me, refusing to scream. By the tenth, my back is on fire. By the twentieth, I can feel blood running down my spine, soaking into my leathers. By the thirtieth, I’m barely conscious.

Shepherd’s face is expressionless as he delivers each strike. When it’s done, they unchain me. I collapse, gasping. Every breath sends new waves of agony through my shredded back.

But I force myself to look and watch what happens next.

They bring out the punishment whip for Shade. It’s different from the training whip they used on me. This one has weighted tips designed to tear flesh.

The first lash falls.

Shade doesn’t scream. He merely stands still while the whip tears his back to ribbons. By the hundredth, I think he might die. The crowd is silent now. Even the Grimsbanes who came to watch look sick.

Only Petyr Ravence is grinning at the edge of the crowd with a satisfied smirk. Every lash that lands makes his grin wider. Mara catches his eye after the eightieth strike, silently asking if this is sufficient. He gives a slight nod. The debt is being paid.

When they finally unchain Shade, he collapses. I catch him before he hits the ground, cradling his destroyed body against me. His blood soaks into my clothes, mixing with my own.

The girl, Kitty is sobbing. She is still wrapped in his cloak with tears streaming down her face. They hauled her to the guild compound on Ravence’s orders. He demanded she witness the consequences of Shade’s actions.

“Stupid,” she chokes out between sobs. “You’re so stupid. Why would you do that? Why would you—”

Shade turns his head with obvious effort and looks at her with those pale eyes. Blood trickles from the corner of his mouth.

“Because no one should be in a cage,” he whispers.

Shepherd watches the scene for a long moment before finally stepping toward Ravence.

“I have a proposal,” he says evenly.

Ravence arches a brow.

“Let the girl work off the debt through the guild instead,” Shepherd continues. “We will train her as a Grimsbane. You still get your money through her missions.”

Ravence considers it. “She’s worth more to me as a worker.”

Shepherd pulls out a heavy pouch of gold. “This is what you’d earn from her in five years, accounting for her inexperience and the cost of breaking her in. I’ll pay it now, up front. In exchange, her contract transfers to the guild.”

Ravence weighs the pouch in his hand. Greed wars with pride on his face.