I was near him before Adam. Up close, the damage to his back seemed severe. I looked away because the sight of his wounds made my heart hurt too much and went to crouch down near his head. His sweaty hair was falling out in front of his eyes, so I couldn't know if he had lost consciousness or not. I pulled them as gently as possible away from his face and his gaze held mine. At least he was conscious. He looked at my right arm and cheek with a painful look, then grabbed my wrist with both his shackled hands to rotate me and examine my left flank and arm. His eyes filled with a sadness and guilt that made my heart ache. He drew me to him until my face was only a few inches from his, then he whispered in my ear.

- 'Why?'

He stared at me intensely, apparently trying to understand my gesture just by staring at me. Before I could answer him, he looked away from me when Hannah approached, before stopping a few inches away from us.

- 'They're all gone, you can get up now,' she said, throwing a little key at him as if he were a dog.

- 'What's your problem, in the end?' I said, standing up to face her.

I was so angry with her for her bitchy behavior and coldness that I only wanted to punch her again! Nevertheless, the shadow of sadness mixed with softness that flashed over her face as she looked down at Jude's back disconcerted me enough to stop me.

- 'I'm just tired of all this drama,' she said, turning her back on me, and then she started to walk away without a glance back.

I watched her leave, stunned by her behaviour, when a deaf growl made me turn to Jude, who was painfully trying to get up on his own and panting in pain.

- 'I don't think I can do it... without help,' he said in a breathless voice, showing us his hands still tied.

Adam hurried to free him, then we helped him get up without hurting him too much, before taking him to his studio. Once inside, he refused to lie down and preferred to sit with a wince on the edge of the bed. He may have difficulty breathing and look like he was on the verge of fainting, but neither Adam nor I had been able to talk some sense into him. Hannah then barged into the room without knocking, closed the door behind her and stood still, her eyes glued to Jude and frowning. From the look on her face, there was something wrong. As for Adam, he seemed terribly uncomfortable.

- 'Jude, I'm sorry I... I should have...' Adam stammered unable to finish his sentence.

- 'You warned Christina and apparently it was the right thing to do, so stop blaming yourself and worrying. You had nothing to do with it anyway, and it's not a few lashes that will trouble Jude, he's had worse!'

Hannah had not moved from the doorstep and had answered Adam without taking her eyes off Jude for a moment. Adam flinched as if she had slapped him and began to look at his shoes with great diligence.

- 'Kudos for the tact Hannah, your improvements are a delight!' I mocked.

That sociopathic bitch was really starting to bother me.

- 'However, from the look on your face, your injuries seem to be more serious than they should be. Why?' She continued as if I was not there.

- 'Thank you Adam, for your help and support, and as Hannah said, I've had worse,' Jude breathed painfully. 'Go ahead. Otherwise Charles will ask more questions than necessary.'

He was trying to put on a good face, but his tense muscles and choppy voice didn't fool anyone. They smiled at each other and Adam left. The moment he left the room, I saw Jude sink. Certainly not much, but enough for me to notice, and so did Hannah apparently because she approached him with a suspicious look on her face.

- 'I'm not keeping you here, Hannah,' he said in a hard voice.

- 'I can't leave without Christina, and you know it! Now show me your back.'

Jude made a frustrated growl and glared at her.

- 'What do you mean, you won't leave without me?' I said offended.

- 'You didn't think you'd get away with it after your little performance earlier, did you? Charles wants to see you and asked me to bring you over.'

A shiver of apprehension run through me.

- 'That's why I didn't want to involve you in this!' Jude aggressively told me as if it was all my fault.

- 'I'm sorry I helped you!' I said. 'But don't worry, next time I'll keep my mouth shut!'

I took two raging steps towards the door and winced as my wounds hurted me.

- 'No way I'm letting you face Charles' anger alone and hurt on top of that!' he grumbled.

My anger increased and I turned suddenly to him to give him a piece of mind, when the words died on my lips the second I laid my eyes on him. He had tried to get up alone and was obviously unable to do so. Lying on the bed, half slumped on his side, he tried to glare at both of us when he saw us rushing towards him, but he was not really convincing.

- 'Oh yes, you will certainly be a great help to me in your condition!' I mocked him more gently than I intended. 'So stop being such a macho and let us help you.'

Only an outraged growl echoed.

- 'Even if it hurts me to admit it, she's right. Tell us what's going on?' Hannah ordered him.

Jude stood up with difficulty and still without our help, his murderous gaze still fixed on us. A few uncomfortable minutes passed, then when he realized that he would not get rid of us so easily, he surrendered with a deep sigh.

- 'Charles did everything in his power to make my recovery slower than usual and to leave scars. So that my humiliation would be complete,' he said, as if talking about the weather.

How could he have done it? But since this question burning in my lips would have been insensitive, I preferred to keep quiet. So I was speechless, not knowing what to say and even wondering, given their barbaric practices, if it was not something common in such a situation. I quickly got the answer to my silent question when I saw the disbelief and then the horror pass over Hannah's face, usually so impassive. No, apparently it wasn't common!

- 'I don't understand your surprised look. Your father has hated me since... always, and from his twisted point of view, I betrayed him. Knowing his temper, it shouldn't surprise you!'

- 'I thought it was a charade to keep face and his reputation as a clan leader! I thought you were in on it together, that he had approved your plan but couldn't risk it being known, without really blaming you...'

She had finally lost her cold, detached air and seemed completely lost. Jude laughed a little without joy.

- 'He's a narcissistic sociopath who can't stand to be challenged, and I defied him openly. He thought this was a good opportunity to make an example. The fact that it was me only added to his pleasure, and you knew it perfectly well.'

His accusatory tone hurt me but not as much as Hannah, considering the wince she made at hearing these harsh words.

- 'But that's ridiculous, you risked everything to save our people,' she said lowly as for herself.

Then she recovered, straightened up and regained her sociopathic bitchy attitude as quickly as before.

- 'If you knew what was in store for you, why did you come back?'

That's a hell of a good question. The first one I had asked myself, after receiving Adam's call, and I was eager to hear the answer.

- 'For reasons that are none of your business! Now, go away.'

- 'You know very well that I can't.'

- 'Even after what I just told you, you'd knowingly bring Christina to your father knowing he's mad? Well, it doesn't even surprise me!' he said with a little sad laughter while shaking his head.

Hannah said nothing, but could not completely hide the harm these words did to her and just stood there looking at us stubbornly.

- 'Can you at least go wait for me outside? There's only one door and I promise not to run out the window!' I sneered at her.

Jude was going to protest, but I gave him an eloquent look. Hannah nodded and finally left the room. When she was out of my sight, I breathed a sigh of relief. That girl made me really uncomfortable.

- 'I too am interested,' I said, slowly turning back to him. 'Why did you come back if you knew what was going to happen to you? Are you a masochist, perhaps?'

- 'It doesn't...'

- 'And don't tell me this doesn't concern me! Not after I've stepped up for you.'

I was now as close to him as the bed he was sitting on allowed and as threatening as I could.

- 'There again I didn't ask you to do anything!' he told me harshly and with anger.

I was about to answer him in the same way, when I saw his haunted and guilty look on my cheek. The latter had started bleeding again and I turned away to hide most of the damage from him.

- 'You had nothing to do with it,' I told him gently, as he refused once again to hold my gaze.

- 'That was the price to pay for his help, and since I didn't have many other options... I accepted,' he eventually admitted.

- 'His help for what?'

But as I asked the question, I knew. His help to save us. Once Aria was out of danger, he didn't care about the others. I felt myself sliding gently to the ground and found myself sitting beside the bed, with my back against the wall, shocked, discouraged, exhausted, and worst of all... guilty.

- 'It's my fault again. Since you've known me, you've probably been hurt more times than in the rest of your life. No wonder you don't like me,' I said in a soft, plaintive voice, that I hated immediately.

Instead of answering me, he in turn let himself slide extremely slowly at the bottom of the bed, and sat clumsily in front of me. He gently pulled me against him and started stroking my hair to comfort me. His touch shocked me more violently than a slap in the face. If anyone needed comfort, it was him more than me. I tried to free myself gently but only managed to hurt him. Guilt and shame came back with renewed intensity.

- 'Stop it,' he said, frowning as he grabbed my wrist firmly. 'I did it to save your life. I owed you that. And to clear up any doubts in your mind, know that I don't particularly enjoy the pain,' he laughed softly. 'Charles had simply neglected to tell me the whole festivities agenda.'

- 'Why this does not surprise me!' I ironically said while continuing to try to free myself from his grip.

- 'Stop fidgeting, you'll make your injuries worse. And it is not true, I do like you,' he whispered as he gently approached his face to mine.

Then his lips brushed mine and finally he kissed me. Our kiss was slow and sweet and seemed to last only a few seconds. I didn't expect it at all so that once our lips parted, I stayed frozen for a moment and stared at him. That was so me. I just realized that I had been unconsciously fantasizing about this guy for days, and now that he was kissing me I was standing there, frozen like a tree!

- 'You're bleeding to death on the carpet,' I pointed out in a hoarse voice.

- 'You too!' he replied softly with a tiny grin on his face, showing me that he was not fooled.

I was so embarrassed to look him in the eye that I started staring at the ground instead. This time, I successfully pulled myself out of his grip and stood up to move around him with a determined step before he had time to stop me. His back was in the same condition as after the flogging session. No healing had begun and blood was lazily flowing from his many wounds. I closed my eyes for a few seconds, revolted by this show, then walked without a word to the bathroom in search of a first aid kit. It was starting to become common nowadays.

- 'Why don't you heal?' I asked him while disinfecting his wounds. 'What exactly did Charles do to you?' I continued gently, trying to control my trembling voice.

- 'He deprived me of sleep and starved me, then made sure that my body had enough internal injuries to repair so that the superficial ones would be secondary and would have time to leave their marks.'

His voice was controlled, but I realized by his tone that the words were difficult to speak. This man was really a monster. I shivered so hard with contained rage that I dropped the disinfectant-soaked cotton that I was holding in my hand.

- 'How come no one noticed?'

I continued my care despite my blatant lack of concentration and questioned him.

- 'I was locked up and I remind you that everyone thought I was a traitor...'

He didn't finish his sentence, but it wasn't necessary. In short, no one cared about what could happen to him in Charles' hands. He then shuddered and could not hold back weak moans. Tears came to my eyes and, fortunately, with his back to me, he could not see them. I helped him to slowly get back on the bed and then had him lie on his stomach before going to get him a glass of water and something to eat. I helped him to straighten his head a little so that he could eat and drink without choking, and then put him back in a comfortable position. Finally, I sat on the floor next to the headboard and stared straight into his eyes.

- 'What kind of internal wounds?' I asked in a voice I hoped neutral, although inwardly I was burning with rage and guilt.

- 'It doesn't matter anymore, does it?' he replied softly, gently reaching out his hand to caress my face.

He was right, knowing would be useless to me, but without really knowing why, I needed it. Perhaps not to lose sight of what a dangerous power-hungry sadist Charles was when I next confronted him.

- 'I know, but I need to know,' I replied as gently as he did, putting my hand on his.

- 'So that you can blame yourself even more then when you have nothing to do with it and you can't do anything about it?' he asked me in a sigh and in a slightly accusatory voice.

Again he was right. I couldn't help but resent myself and my curiosity may have been misplaced; nevertheless, I stood my ground, while still deciding to be honest with him.

- 'You may be right, but I think not knowing... is even worse, because right now it's my imagination that's in command and...'

I deliberately left my sentence unfinished, waiting for him to draw the necessary conclusions.

- 'All right, you want to know? I'll tell you!' he said angry, his shoulders getting more and more tense as he tried to sit down.

Apparently, he couldn't talk to me about it lying down. He must have felt too vulnerable, no doubt. Knowing that there was no point in stopping him and that he would not appreciate my help, I let him do it and looked away so as not to see his suffering.

- 'Before the public meeting... I had the private meeting. No one knew of his intentions, not even me.'

He had a little bitter laugh. I had a good idea what he was thinking. He should have seen it coming.

- 'Just before the flogging, he came to see me alone in the boardroom where I was already tied, pretending to prepare me psychologically. You can imagine that it was much more physical than psychological! He hit me with a baseball bat, so as to do lots of damage but no marks. That way, no one noticed anything. And if I was crazy enough to want to talk about it, there was no proof. It would have been his word against mine.'

- 'It'll be obvious when they see your scars.'

- 'I have no reason to show them, and what is done is done, so let's not talk about it anymore. All right, you're done with your questions?' he asked impatiently.

- 'Maybe I should put a bandage on you?' I asked him, helping him to lie down again.

Only then did I notice the bruising forming on his ribs. Someone had to stop this psycho.

- 'No, just give me a shirt and I'll be fine... please.'

- 'And why do you need a shirt when you're in bed?' I inquired suspiciously.

- 'As I already told you, there's no way you're going to face Charles alone.... Especially not in this state. You have to heal yourself!' he barked.

He stared at me. I think my wounds were hurting him more than they were me after all. He absolutely had to stop his white knight, or caveman act. In his condition, it was really ridiculous.

- 'Oh, yes, I can! I'm a big girl and you're not going anywhere in your condition. I'm even surprised you haven't passed out yet. You won't be of much help to me if you collapse in the middle of hostilities.'

- 'That's not going to happen....'

I approached him, and it was my turn to take his face in my hands.

- 'He can't do anything to me, except threaten me and frighten me... Nothing new then. Don't interrupt me!' I said nicely. 'And even if he wanted to make me pay for his little humiliation earlier, you couldn't stop him, just make me worry a little more. Stay here and get some rest.'

I released him and backed away without kissing him. I don't know why, but I didn't dare despite the urge to do so. I helped him to lie down on his stomach and covered him with the sheet, which was stained red almost immediately. I winced and pulled it out. That's when my eyes settled on his shoulder wound, still red and inflamed.

- 'Will you finally tell me what is this wound on your shoulder?' I asked him gently.

I saw him close his eyes and sigh. The silence lasted forever and I thought he had fallen asleep. I had just got down on my knees by his bed when he finally answered me in a very low voice, almost like a whisper.

- 'This is the price to pay when you betray your clan leader... and it's part of what Charles had asked me to do for his help.'

No... That was too much! This guy was a sick man and someone had to do something about it. That was the last straw and I could no longer stop my tears from running down.

- 'You see, I shouldn't have told you about it,' he said tired and resigned. 'I didn't want to, but I did it so you would understand how dangerous and merciless he is. So don't go.'

- 'Don't worry, I already knew it, and you know I have no choice,' I replied, wiping my tears with the back of my hand.

- 'Not alone!'

- 'He won't hurt me. He knows you know and if he hates you so much, I think it's partly because he's afraid of you.'

- 'You have to heal yourself,' he said anxiously. 'Why did you do that?'

His eyes were looking for mine, but, aware that I could not hold his gaze and answer him at the same time, I simply stared at the ground.

- 'I don't really know... Instinct, stupidity?' I said with a little smile.

His hand came to rest gently under my chin and he lifted my head up.

- 'Look at me, why are you avoiding my gaze?'

- 'I... I couldn't stand to see anyone hurt you,' I breathed, staring at him.

I saw his eyes widening in surprise, quickly replaced by... tenderness, exasperation? Feeling the tears rising again, I suddenly released myself from his embrace and began to move quietly towards the door.

- 'Wait! Don't leave like that.'

At the same time, there was a loud knock on the door. Hannah.

- 'I have to go,' I said tensely.

Seeing that he was trying to get up yet another time, I approached him to limit the damage.

- 'I am so sorry,' he whispered, gently brushing the healing cut on my cheek. 'Thank you...'

His gaze on me was full of questions and doubts. I rolled my eyes to lighten the mood and put on my most beautiful smile.

- 'It's going to be fine. You need to rest and heal.'

- 'Promise me you'll come back and tell me how it went.'

His voice was weak and he was about to fall into a deep restful sleep.

- 'I promise,' I said with a reassuring smile.

My smile disappeared very quickly as soon as I found myself in front of the door. I had reassured him, but I had no idea what was in store for me. Maybe the same treatment as him. If that was the case, I didn't think I could handle it. I hadn't told him anything, but that one blow had already hurt me quite a bit and I was still in a lot of pain. I didn't even want to know how he might be feeling right now.

The moment I put my hand on the doorknob, impatient knocks were thrown at the door and Hannah's charming voice ordered me to hurry, if I didn't want her to get me out by the scruff of the neck. I tried not to think, not to let my fear and legitimate apprehension show through, opened the door and stepped out of the room with a decided pace.