Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 127933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127933 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 426(@300wpm)
Alexander’s voice rose once more, silencing any further murmurs.
“Disobedience is not tolerated here. Misguidance of the Electi is a grave sin, one that leads only to destruction.” His gaze swept across the room, lingering on Nicolette, who stood trembling at the front, flanked by Bishop and the other masked man.
Phoenix raised his hand, and both Nicolette and the other two—Cato and Verina—were forced to kneel, their heads bowed low in submission. Bishop, with a cold precision, approached Nicolette first. Another masked figure stepped forward, carrying a tray, and I felt a sickening sense of déjà vu.
My mind flashed to what had been done to Kennedy before. The methodical way they prepared for punishment, like it was some kind of ritual.
"Nicolette’s transgression," he continued, his voice devoid of emotion, “is attempting to mislead our Sponsa Diaboli, my Electi, during her time of transition.”
There were audible gasps from the congregation, followed by murmurs of outrage.
“How could she betray the Sponsa Diaboli?" a woman questioned, her voice tinged with shock.
"Cato? I thought he was loyal!"
"This cannot be! Verina has served for years!" a deeper voice growled, their anger barely contained.
The tension in the room swelled, a mixture of betrayal and righteous fury as they awaited the consequences for those named.
“Sponsa Diaboli.” Keres turned to me; her eyes wide. “Isn’t that you?”
I felt my stomach lurch. "But she didn’t do that," I whispered, the weight of the accusation crushing down on me.
“Our Diabolus does not lie,” Seraphine refuted.
“He just did,” I snapped back at her. I wanted to scream, to protest, but the room was already moving, the ritual proceeding as if no injustice had just been uttered. Was this why Esther had been noticeably absent the past few days? The masked figure holding the tray stopped in front of Nicolette, and Bishop reached for something on it—something I couldn't see clearly. I realized what was happening as Alexander stated it aloud.
Loqui Nullum Malum.
The punishment for speaking out of turn, for daring to sow doubt or dissent.
They made a show of holding up a thin thread, its shimmer barely visible from where I was sitting. I couldn't make out the details, but my gut told me it was no ordinary string. The weight of what was happening settled deep in my bones.
Nicolette was about to be silenced.
I couldn’t let this happen.
Not again.
Before I realized what I was doing, I shot up from my seat, but Seraphine and Selena were faster. They moved in unison, blocking me from getting any closer to the exit. Keres stood too, as if she were ready to back me up. Selena took a step towards her and Keres raised her fist, squaring up for a fight. "Try me if you want," she dared the Acolyte, her defiance practically radiating off her.
Seraphine’s voice was calm, trying to smooth the rising tension.
"I know you want to run down there and do what you think is right but ask yourself if that’s really the right choice.”
“What I think is right?” Keres shot back. “You people are all whacked.”
“You’re entitled to your opinion, even if it is prejudiced, but that doesn’t change the fact the door to this room is locked and the service cannot be interrupted. Our Diabolus knew you'd try this," she said to me directly, her words almost apologetic. She glanced at Keres, adding, "They all were prepared for this."
"I don’t give a damn what that heathen was prepared for," Keres spat, her voice low.
My attention shifted to the other woman, and it finally dawned on me that for her, this was about more than just Nicolette's situation. Keres was also struggling with the same issues I was facing. When we weren’t together, she had to navigate her own path with a man who had stolen her away.
Despite always appearing composed and put-together, Keres was just as much a victim of circumstance as I was.
Selena raised a brow, her tone still calm but now laced with an edge of authority. "There’s no need for insults. You just need to try and under—."
Before she could finish, Nicolette's terrorized cry echoed through the room, and my heart seized in my chest. I ran to the viewing window and pounded against the unforgiving glass. I remembered then it was a one-way window, and that we were hearing everything below from speakers somewhere in the ceiling of this room.
I watched in helpless horror as Alexander calmly stepped forward, a thin, glinting blade in his hand. He worked with a kind of chilling precision, threading the cruel needle through Nicolette’s trembling lips.
Each puncture sent a sickening sound of flesh tearing into the silent air like wet paper being shredded.
Blood spilled freely down her chin, soaking into her clothes and pooling on the floor. Her muffled screams were trapped behind the threads, her lips sealed shut as her body convulsed against the men pinning her down. Every time I caught a glimpse of her eyes, wide and wild with terror, I felt my stomach lurch. The agony etched into her expression was beyond anything I’d ever witnessed.