Page 754 of Coal Hearts

Henri

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FUNNY HOW PAIN COULD SWITCH from agonising to numbing. How ice cold could become boiling hot. How shock could hide a broken bone.

I’d heard of such phenomena.

Heard how mothers had the sudden strength to throw cars off their children and soldiers carried their comrades through a battlefield with a broken leg.

I’d endured a lot on this island, but I hadn’t been pushed to those extremes.

Not until now.

Now...I had an inkling.

The slightest awakening of just how far I would go if given the tiniest chance of winning.

Nothing would stop me.

Nothing could stop me.

Not a broken bone.

Not a broken soul.

Because the only thing I needed to burn this fucking place to the ground was a heart that kept on beating. A heart that watched every lash and sent me her love even though I wished she’d close her eyes.

I grunted as Victor reopened my back with his lashes.

My scarred skin split wide as he whipped me. Hot blood rivered down my back and trickled over my bare ass. He wasn’t gentle nor was he unhinged. He whipped me just enough to ensure I trembled and panted—driving me to that point where my legs threatened to give out before he finished.

But then it was over.

And he patted my sweaty, bloody shoulder and whispered how I would get a reward if I managed to stay coherent.

He left.

Another Master took his place.

I groaned as he struck.

His hit wasn’t as accurate. The bite of the whip kissed my thighs instead of my back, adding another layer of excruciation. He whipped me five times and then traded places.

The next lacked finesse, the leather fork chewing its way through my shoulder blades, almost kissing bone.

Kiss by vicious kiss, they pushed me deeper and deeper to that point of inhumanness.

I felt it building inside me, welling like a mushroom cloud, preparing to blanket, shelter, and grant me adrenaline and strength to survive.

If only I could use that numbness to protect Ily and get her far away from here.

If only I could blow up this fucking fortress and every monster within it.

A guttural cry escaped me as another Master stepped up and began.

He held nothing back.

No one did.