Eliphas was the last to receive his punishment. The remainder of the sinwolves, those that faced the whip before him, were bracing against the burning wounds cut deep into their bodies. Sinwolves were covered in fur, especially on their backs, but that did nothing against a shapeshifter's strength.

The iron tip of the whip was sticky with blood by the time Celestia reached the end of the line and towered over Eliphas without a single bead of sweat having left her brow. Ten lashes. From where Faine stood, she couldn't see the blood on the backs of those wolves, caking into their fur and dripping down their backs. The only evidence of that was the small pitter-patter of the red puddles behind them, soaking into their pants and boots.

They breathed heavy and every ounce of their strength went into keeping themselves upright. Faine decided quickly: she didn't want to be on the other end of that whip. Not ever. If a sinwolf, one of the strongest beasts in Pinedon, couldn't hold their own against ten lashes, there was little chance Faine could stand the test of that iron-tipped whip.

Celestia had done this before. That was clear by the determination in her eyes, the way she held the whip, and the direction in which she delivered those lashes. With such a precision that only years of work could perfect. Not a single hair was out of place on her head and her eyes held the same fire they had when she first walked into the room.

Though the robe she wore had come untied and revealed the white shirt underneath, now stained with blood, that was the only thing out of place on the crime boss of Silver Willow. One of the most hunted and dangerous women in all of Pinedon. Here she was, ripe for the picking, yet poisonous to all those that threatened to graze her with their touch.

Faine looked up at Ilian's face, but he didn't look back. A muscle feathered in his jaw and his brows drew inward. Concern or...preparation. No one wanted to watch this, but it was a requirement of those that joined Silver Willow. They had no choice but to watch in what would be a punishment for them if they weren't careful. Faine was part of that now. Her guts churned with that thought.

The whip groaned in Celestia's hand when she gripped it tight and drew her arm back to deliver the first lash. Eliphas's hands curled into fists and he tightened his jaw. Those simple movements couldn't prepare anyone for what he was about to face, and when the whip came down, he flinched. Eliphas's entire body went rigid and the sound of leather slapping against skin—through the fur—was disgusting in itself.

One lash. Faine took a deep breath and crossed her arms over her chest. It had been after the fifth sinwolf received their punishment that he finally stopped staring at her, silently imagining himself eating her alive and leaving nothing but cracked, brittle bones behind. Fear took over. Two lashes.

He clenched his eyes shut but remained stoic. The crack reverberated through the room and out the open window. Silence met them.

Three lashes.

Faine shifted on her feet and looked to the faces in the room. She was part of this now. She was the reason these sinwolves were on their knees, receiving lashes. The others were practically trembling with the need to lick their wounds. Blood pooled at their ankles; dripped down their shirts. But they didn't look away from the floor. As if they were mourning the beating of another to their side with little knowledge of what they could do to protect others in their pack.

Four lashes. Eliphas growled. He turned his head as if to turn on Celestia but a guard standing off to the side braced his hand against the pommel of a sword at his hip and silently warned the sinwolf that if he attempted anything, he'd face plenty more than ten lashes. Too many closed doors led to hidden rooms with torture devices meant for moments like this. When members of Silver Willow lost their place.

Faine had seen the scars on many of the members already. Five lashes. Blood sprayed onto the floors and with every crack of the whip reaching its final peak, it sprinkled across the room like warm rain. It painted the ceiling, the walls, the golden mirror above the mantle. Everywhere Faine looked, she caught a speck of it lingering. Watching her.

Six lashes.

The punishment was slower than others; Celestia was dragging it out. She didn't move quickly as she had with the others but wasted seconds on taking deep breaths and readjusting her grip. It was a game of sanity, to make Eliphas forget what the end of the punishment might look like. Relief. No, he was lost to that and could only think about the horrors of the present. He'd go insane wondering when the punishment would be over.

Eliphas stiffened against the seventh lash. His body began to quiver and not even the clenching of his jaw or tightening of his fists could keep the pain away. Though he continued to try. Faine watched closely, carefully, and considered the faults of her actions. The sinwolf knew she was the reason he was on his knees; he'd make her pay.

Wanting to express that to Ilian, she stepped closer. But he was too infatuated by the whipping that he hardly noticed her nudging him. Ginevra did, though. She tuned in to everything they did as if Faine was somehow intruding on the relationship they didn't have, a false likelihood of promise that never saw the light.

At the crack of the eighth lash, Faine decided to face the consequences herself. That was what Zebulon wanted, after all. To screw her over with four months to go.

Two more. The ninth lash came and went with a barring of Eliphas's teeth that went unnoticed to most in the room. Instead, they were watching the blood dripping down from his back and sliding to the floor.

Celestia waited on the final lash. She made him shake with fear and made him believe that it was over. Then she reached far back over her head with the whip in her hand and carefully, as if bringing down an axe, sliced the final cut into Eliphas's skin. He cried out in pain and toppled forward, unclenching his hands long enough to brace against the floor before him.

The crime boss of Silver Willow ran her hand along the whip, coming just short of grinning at their pain. She shook out the blood, and it splattered onto the floor at the boots of the sinwolves kneeling before her. "You're dismissed," she ordered.

Not to those that hadn't faced the whip, but those that did. The sinwolves brought themselves onto shaken knees and walked out of the room with what little dignity they had left, all the while revealing the tattered remnants of the flesh on their backs. Faine grimaced, though she tried to hide it.

Silence restored itself within the great room. Then, "The rest of you are dismissed, as well. Return to your rooms for the night, though I advise you to work on your mission reports."

An indirect order to Faine and Ilian to avoid revealing them to the rest of the base. Terrors and alliances constructed within were the number one reason crime bases lost so many members. They went against each other; found and killed and left the bare scraps behind.

Hours later, under the cover of moonlight, Faine delivered her mission report to Celestia's study. It was the first time she went inside by herself but didn't bother to stick around and mess with something that didn't belong to her. No snooping around at night; too suspicious. She shut the door quietly behind her and walked to her room, thinking of the bath she could finally have and the array of clothes she'd finally receive the chance to try on.

Bought by Ilian, she reminded herself.

She was too lost in her own thoughts to spot the dark shadow lingering in the corner, and when it pounced on her, pinning her back against the wall, Faine had nowhere to go. The back of her head slammed against the stone and she saw stars, and through them, Eliphas's ragged expression. Only a few steps away from her door and she'd missed him.

The air escaped her lungs when he wrapped a hand around her throat and gripped tight. He, himself, was a weapon. No daggers or knives needed.

"I suggest you mind your own business," he growled, tilting her chin to meet his stare, exposing her bare neck. His other hand wrapped tight around her bicep, nearly crushing the bone and bruising her elbow the farther back he shoved it against the wall. "It's easy to get rid of the likes of you."

Faine panted through her nose, but the air was shortcoming. "You deserved that punishment. It's your fault, and your fault alone for using those mortals," she opposed.

She barely got the words out before Eliphas growled in her face and came so close to her neck, so dangerously close, that she attempted to wiggle out of his grip. Too tight. The stench came off of him in waves—blood and sweat. Whether from the punishment or the courage he built up to do this; if it took any at all. Something in Faine's mind told her Eliphas didn't work in ways of consideration. He just acted on impulse alone without thinking of the consequences.

"You are new here, pretty thing. One mission doesn't define you and trust me, you won't see another if you pull something like that again," he whispered, gripping tighter. Faine felt the bruises forming on her lilac neck.

Sinwolves worked in ways of dominance. So did Faine. She had one free arm and used that to her advantage. With a simple move mastered over years of training, a blade broke free and she pressed the tip against his abdomen, right where she could spill his guts with a single slice. Eliphas bared his teeth but was cut off. "Either you back away or you'll receive one more lash. One you won't come back from," she threatened.

"What makes you think you're brave enough to do such a thing?"

The corner of Faine's mouth tugged upwards, commanded by the rising sarcasm that seemed to choke her as strongly as Eliphas's grip did. "You don't know me at all. I've done plenty worse to your kind."

He chuckled darkly. "Likewise."

Someone cleared their throat from down the hall and Eliphas softened his grip enough for Faine to turn her head. Resting his shoulder against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and weight shifted to one hip—was Ilian. His brows rose at the first hint of attention and amusement—a like not meant for this situation—flared in his eyes.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

"Actually, you are," Eliphas dictated. "Go to your rooms, Renaut."

Ilian pouted. "Last name basis? Have we lost our friendship, Eliphas?"

The sinwolf growled and tightened his grip on Faine's neck once more, earning himself a sharper poke in the side. Ilian's eyes darted, only for a second, to her strained face and flared his nostrils at the beast keeping her there. That amusement left and was replaced by one simple expression. Fury.

"I suggest you be careful. I'm always watching," Ilian echoed.

"You two are the ones that need to be careful. Watch your backs; Steelmaw doesn't take kindly to mortals or felirams. Especially those willing to go against them." Eliphas released Faine from his hold but she remained where she was. "I suggest you avoid major trails; we have a radar for bait like you."

He turned on his heel, stiffly, and strutted back from where he came. From the wounds hidden underneath his shirt, each step strained, but his immortal body would heal those in time. Once the iron from the whip was out of his system.

Faine retracted the hidden blade and rubbed a hand over her sore neck.

"You all right?" Ilian asked.

"Fine," she barked. "I don't need help."

Ilian opened the door to his room and the candles from within illuminated his face. "I didn't say you did." He winked at her before disappearing into his room, shutting the door behind him, and leaving her out in the hall alone.

Nothing stained her clothes, but Faine brushed herself off to remove the 'ick' of Eliphas from her exterior. The only thing that would get rid of everything else; the slimy, oily substance that came along with sinwolves? A proper bath.

She soaked herself in the tub, all the while twirling a dagger back and forth in her hands. If Eliphas decided to drown her, she wouldn't go down without a fight. Not in the days to come, or weeks, or however long it took. Faine wouldn't let him kill her.