We argued until Helena slammed the table again. "Enough! Adrian, whose idea was this?"

The hall went silent. Adrian stepped forward, his robe glinting in the candlelight. He paused, then said, "Luna, it was Isabella's doing."

His words hit like a thunderbolt, freezing the blood in my veins. "It's my fault for not guiding her better," Adrian continued, bowing deeply. "I'll make amends with a new gift. Please forgive her."

Each word was a knife, carving into my heart. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

"Isabella," Helena said, shaking her head, "I always admired your grace and virtue. This mistake disappoints me deeply." She waved a hand. "No death penalty for Stone Manor's lady, but punishment is due. Guards-slap her face one hundred times!"

"Luna, I'm innocent!" I crawled forward, pleading, but two matrons grabbed me, their grip like iron.

Slap!

The first hit numbed half my face, blood pooling in my mouth. The second was worse, my vision blurring, ears ringing, cheeks burning like they'd been branded.

Adrian stood there, watching as slap after slap landed, blood dripping from my lips, staining my dress. His fingers twitched, like he might step forward, but then Sylvia grabbed his sleeve. "Adrian, I'm scared."

"It's my fault," she whimpered. "I shouldn't have brought that gift."

He closed his eyes, then covered hers gently. "Don't be afraid. I've got you, even if the sky falls."

The hundred slaps left me barely conscious. They ascendednew page

They dragged me back to Stone Manor and locked me in the chapel to copy scriptures in blood as penance. In the flickering candlelight, I knelt on a mat, my trembling hands dipping the brush in ink. Every stroke felt like a cut to my soul.

I thought of Adrian shielding me from the world, promising no one would ever harm me. And today, covering Sylvia's eyes, whispering, "Don't be afraid. I'll protect you."

A tear fell, smearing the bloody ink.

When I woke, I was in a soft bed, Adrian sitting beside me, blowing on a bowl of medicine. "You awake? Still hurting?" His voice was soft, like the old days.

The whip marks screamed, snapping me back. This wasn't my Adrian anymore. He'd watched me suffer for her.

"Why aren't you with Sylvia?" I rasped, turning away.

He sighed, setting the bowl down. "She's shaken up from the feast. Nothing cheers her up. except she mentioned wanting to see you dance The Crimson Swan."

I stared at him, disbelief burning in my chest. "You want me to dance? Look at me, Adrian. I can barely move."

His eyes, once warm, turned cold. "You're Stone Manor's lady. Your duty is to obey your mate." He stood, towering over me. "I say dance, you dance."

Rough hands yanked me from the bed, my wounds tearing open as I struggled. "Adrian!" I screamed, but he walked away.

In the lake pavilion, I danced on a jade platform, every step agony. The Crimson Swan demanded grace, so I gritted my teeth, forcing fluidity through the pain.

Sylvia lounged in Adrian's arms by the shore, her eyes gleaming. "She dances so beautifully!"

This dance was for him, once. I'd practiced for months to surprise him on his birthday. Now it was for her.

On the final spin, my foot slipped. I plunged into the icy lake, water swallowing me. Gasping, I broke the surface, seeing Adrian leap up, panic in his eyes. "Isabella!"

But Sylvia's maid shrieked, "Adrian! Sylvia's choking on a fishbone!"

He froze, glancing at me, then at Sylvia coughing in the pavilion. That moment of hesitation gutted me worse than any whip.

"Get a healer!" he barked, rushing to Sylvia, scooping her up, and vanishing down the corridor.

The cold water dragged me down, the light fading. In my mind, I saw Adrian in Joravia Town, riding up in white, offering his hand. "Come to Belmor Town with me, Isabella. I'll keep you safe forever."

"Lady Isabella!"

I gasped awake, choking on air. Ruby knelt by my bed, tears streaming. I was in my room, alone.

"Who. saved me?" I croaked.

"Martha from the kitchen saw you fall. She and some maids pulled you out."

I gave a bitter laugh. Stone Manor's lady, saved by servants while my mate ran to another.

Days passed in a haze of pain and gossip. "Adrian burned his hand making Sylvia's medicine." "He rode at dawn to get her favorite cake." "He's crafting her golden armor, like she's his treasure."

Each rumor was a dagger. I remembered when I was sick, and he wouldn't leave my side, tasting my medicine first. "If anything happened to you, Isabella, I'd die too," he'd said. Now, I nearly drowned, and he didn't even check on me.

Sylvia burst in one day. "It's market day. Come see how ten cents can stretch."

She dragged me to the bustling market, picking through rotten vegetables. "How much did you used to spend on supplies?"

"Five hundred silver," I said.

"Five hundred?!" she shrieked, drawing stares. "That could feed the poor for years! You leeches ruin the pack!"

She ranted, then pointed at the moldy rice and wilted greens. "This is what we'll eat for months."

I picked up a bug-ridden leaf. "Really? Then why do you get fresh millet porridge and new cotton clothes every day? You preach against wealth but live better than us."

Her face flushed with fury, but a commotion cut her off. An old woman was sobbing, held by a shopkeeper. "My pup's waiting for dinner! Please, let me go!"

"You broke three jars of ten-year wine!" he roared. "Ten silver, now!"

Sylvia charged over. "How heartless are you? Her pup needs her!"

The shopkeeper scoffed. "Pay for her, then!"

Sylvia hesitated, then slapped a few coins on the counter. "Here!"

He laughed. "Ten silver, and you give me pennies? Pay up, or I'm calling the enforcers!"

Sylvia, flustered, glanced at a brothel across the street, then at me. "Go work there for a few days. Earn the silver for her."