He stood still, his body rigid. The photo in his hand was creasing and wrinkling from the tight hold he had on it, but he didn't notice.

My stomach rolled over once more as the lingering taste and ever-present burn that consumed my mouth and travelled down my chest overwhelmed my senses. It was all-consuming. I had never experienced torture like it before. I knew I would have many sleepless nights from the memory of the pain alone, let alone of the eyes of the man who caused it.

I wretched to the side. My stomach ached from the effort of trying to empty my stomach of the contents that I had already covered the floor with. There was nothing left to expel, but that didn't stop my body from trying.

The movement must have snapped Jaxon out of the trace he had fallen in. When my eyes returned to his once more, refusing to let him out of sight in case he had anymore surprise attacks planned, they had lightened nearly to his normal golden colour.

He looked back down at the picture in his hand and frowned.

I jumped when Ezra slammed his fist into the wall. He did it with enough force to crack the plaster, sending small clouds of white dust floating while cracks webbed across the surface. I could see small pieces of the wall struggling not to crumble down around his fist.

He stood between me and Jaxon with his eyes zeroed in on him. "You. Almost. Killed. Her." Each word was strained through clenched teeth. I could feel the venom dripping off of them as Ezra spit them out.

Jaxon looked up from the picture. He seemed dazed and confused for a moment before his eyes focused in a blink. Keeping the picture in his hand, he dropped his arm to his side and straightened, pulling his shoulders back.

"What is this?" He demanded, his eyes flashing dark again.

Ezra didn't like that he was ignored. He straightened his shoulders to match Jaxon's posture and crossed his arms as the atmosphere grew heavy. The hallway became stifling with the challenging aura the two were radiating.

I choked back a cough that was desperate to break free and soothe my agitated throat. I backed up towards the wall in an attempt to make myself as least visible as possible. I didn't know what Jaxon had forced into my mouth, but I knew I'd feel the lasting effects of his assault in the days to come. Hopefully, my tastebuds weren't irreparably damaged. I'd hate for the last thing I ever tasted to be the taste of my tastebuds melting off.

Each breath was a struggle. Although Ezra was able to somehow unrestricted my airway, he wasn't able to get rid of the burn. Each inhale was like blowing into a fire.

"What is this?" He asked again, shaking the picture in our direction as his eyes flickered to black.

Ezra's back stiffened. He had failed to notice Jaxon's shifting eyes until now.

Unfurling his finger slowly, he raised the placatingly in his direction.

"Nea wanted to apologize for ripping your picture," he said calmly.

Too calmly.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose in warning. Ezra's voice was too sharp of a contrast to his earlier tone. It sent home the message that Jaxon's shifting eyes were more dangerous than my pain-addled mind could understand.

I swallowed but that only sent pins and needles down my throat.

Jaxon looked down at the picture in his hand with furrowed brows before looking at me. His eyes stormed with emotions I couldn't identify. The corner of his lips tilted down in a frown.

"Why?" He asked.

I swallowed past the pain in my throat once more. It felt like I had swallowed glass. I knew I would have a sore throat the following day. My tongue darted out to lick my swollen lips. They were most likely red and inflamed, irritated.

Instead of speaking up and answering him, I stepped back and moved to put Ezra's body between our line of sight. My body shook from exertion and the pain coursing through it.

Jaxon didn't like that. He narrowed his eyes and moved to match my motions, keeping his eyes on me.

My heart raced, increasing in speed the longer Jaxon watched me with his darkened eyes. I felt overwhelmed and helpless under his gaze. Tears pooled in my eyes and were about to fall over from the complete helplessness I felt, but the faint rhythmic sound of my rescue delayed my meltdown.

Everything stilled including Ezra and Jaxon, as the sound of nearing footsteps drew closer. Soon the sharp, rhythmic clank of heels on marble was joined by hushed conversation. It didn't take long before Mia and Julia rounded the corner. Once their eyes landed on us they came to a stop.

"There you are!" Mia exclaimed as she threw her arms out. "We've been looking for you everywhere!"

Mia brushed past Jaxon and Ezra and grabbed me by the arm. She was about to drag me away but paused after looking at me more closely.

She narrowed her eyes. "Are you okay, Nea?"

I could see the two men tense out of the corner of my eye. My own body did too, but I didn't let that show. Instead, I put on a tight smile.

"Yea," I said, my voice cracking. "Things just got a bit out of control with Axel," I lied. I tried putting on a face that I would imagine one of the bad women the men liked to mention so often would wear. I must have done a good job because soon Mia's brows smoothed out before narrowing in anger.

"Come on, you're late for tea," she pouted.

She didn't give me a moment to respond before dragging me behind her. She pulled me down the hall away from a stiff Ezra and Jaxon who didn't dare move an inch.

I hadn't realized I wasn't breathing either until the burn in my throat became a familiar one that went hand in hand with not getting air into my lungs.

It was a shame I was so well acquainted with the sensation.

Breathing as calmly as I could manage, I got my heart rate under control and soothed the burn in my throat enough to manage conversation without a second glance of question from either Mia or Julia. They seemed too preoccupied discussing which husbands they thought would accompany who to the party the following night.

I couldn't believe my sudden stroke of luck. Mia and Julia coming to save me from the torment that I was being subjected to while hidden from their eyes was something I didn't even know I wanted until it was occurring. They gave me the desperate escape I didn't even realize I was craving.

"Who's accompanying you tomorrow night, Nea?" Julia asked as we reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Of course it'll be Lord Axel," Mia snorted. "Him or Lord Cassius, those two were the ones women were the most desperate for."

I cleared my throat, disgusted at the phlegm I swallowed down, but at least the burn in my throat was better now, bearable. "I haven't decided yet," I answered. I had no clue who would be accompanying me, but a gnawing pit of dread in my stomach hint to me that I already knew who it would be.

"Lady June!"

A younger, scrawny, man with light purple hair ran up to us as we headed for one of the doors leading out back. He was near my high, just a few inches taller, but was similar in build- skinny. He held a delicate, white, paper umbrella in his hands.

"Sorry it took me so long, a few of the bags were misplaced," he said in a nervous rush as he bent over at the waist in a bow.

Mia rolled her eyes lightly and waved her hand at him. "It's fine, come along now," she said as she continued past his bowed form, paying him no mind. He rushed to straighten and followed behind her.

Julia watched all of it unfold along with me. She simply nodded with a laugh and followed behind Mia as I was left behind in confusion as to who that was. I hadn't recognized him as any of the servants I had seen around the manor before.

I followed behind, having to increase my pace to keep up with the slightly longer stride of the other two women. Mia's chestnut brown hair bounced behind her in delicate curls that softened her soft, delicate features. Julia's blonde waves were golden and sun-kissed, reflecting the sun peeking between clouds as we stepped out into the backyard.

The two women walked slightly in front of me as we headed to the prepared table outside that awaited us under the shade of a few trees, both actively exchanged tidbits of gossip. They didn't pay me or my lack of participation much attention. It was most likely because I was like this the previous day as well, quiet and spent most of the time listening.

The boy, Kirk, who Mia had explained had arrived early this morning from her home lands to be able to help assist her and help her prepare for tomorrow night, walked beside them off to the side, shielding Mia under his thin umbrella from the sun. He kept shooting me occasional nervous glances, but by now I was used to getting similar ones from other young men that worked around the manor so I ignored it.

The sky had dark clouds that the sun occasionally peeked out from behind. It looked like they could release a torrent of rain at any moment, but Mia and Julia didn't seem concerned in the least as they looked back at me to see if I was laughing along with them.

The lush grass was soft beneath my feet as we approached a cluster of shaded trees. Peeking out from behind one I could spot the edge of the table that had been prepared for us.

As we drew closer, a sense of unease began to surround me. I tried to brush it off at first. After all, what were the odds that someone would be unfortunate enough to face so many bad situations consecutively in such a short span of time? But I should have learned not to rely on logic that fed my delusions of personal safety.

It started to sink in that something was off when Mia and Julia's conversation took on hushed tones. They leaned into one another, shielding their lips from me as they conversed privately, shooting me the occasional glance.

My steps began to slow as I began taking notice of how odd they seemed. I hadn't paid much attention to it before- couldn't pay much attention to it with the assaults I had faced occupying the forefront of my thoughts, but they seemed anxious.

I came to a stop as they rounded the trees. Julia lingered closer to me as Mia approached the table that held a spread of finger foods and tea. Among the spread was one item that had my brows furrowing in confusion.

On the edge of the table was a very noticeable... cane? The stark, dark, wooden stick stood out among the white China and delicate sweets. It was one of those thin ones that were a walking stick with a decorative top.

Whenever I saw one, I always pictured that there was a hidden blade inside.

The cane that rested on the edge of the table, that Mia now picked up in her hands, was a simple black rod with a gold metal ball speckled with small diamonds at the end.

I don't know why, but the moment my eyes landed on the cane, my stomach dropped as unease flooded my veins.

I shifted on my feet and swallowed past the ball forming in my already sore throat. "W-what's going on?" I asked lightheartedly with a forced smile on my face.

My unease only grew when Julia continued to look on at me with a blank expression.

My eyes returned to Mia as she ran her finger over the cane, pretending to inspect it. She answered my question only to leave me with many more.

"Oh, just setting the scene," she casually said while passing the cane between her hands, seeming to test the weight.

"The... scene?" I asked, confused.

Mia flipped the cane in her hand, catching it by the thin end without the Dimond studded metal ball, and gave me a maniacal smile. At her side, Kirk folded away the delicate paper umbrella with shaking hands.

"Yes, the scene! It has to look perfect to be believable!"

"What needs-"

My question was cut off with a swing of the cane by Mia. She swung it like a baseball bat and hit Kirk right in the gut with the rounded, metal, and stone side with a sickening thud. I flinched as he bent over with a pained cry.

Before I could even think to move to help him, Julia had her arms banded around me. Without thinking, I started to struggle against her hold as Kirk's pained cries accompanied by the sound of his body being beaten grew increasingly louder. Overshadowing his sounds of pain though, were the exaggerated yet convincing shouts coming from Mia and Julia begging me to stop.

My mind swam in the confusion that the two women had riddled me with, trying to figure out what was happening.

After a few more hits, Mia stopped her attack on Kirk who now lay on the grass, bleeding and balled up to protect himself.

Stepping away, Mia grabbed her sleeve and tore it before ripping the pocket of the dress shirt she wore and messing up her clothes further. Julia followed her lead and rumpled her clothing and hair too, but went the added mile and dragged her nails down her neck, leaving trails of raised welts.

Soon, the faint shaking of the ground could be felt as multiple sets of feet raced to our location. Suddenly it all made sense.

My head whipped towards Mia who stood in front of me, an expression full of fear and concern on her face as she raised her arms seemingly in defence.

I had thought she was becoming a friend, she sure as hell acted like one.

Julia tightened her arms around me.

They both had.

Soon the faint trembles in the ground became audible thuds of footfalls as those they belonged to neared. The first to come into view as they rounded the corner was Henry. His eyes widened, mimicking the shock I felt as well when they landed on me. Following closely behind him were Cassius and Zev.

The moment Cassius came into view, Mia threw herself at him. She clutched onto his arm, pressing her body up against his.

"Cassius!" She exclaimed, forgoing addressing him by his formal title. "Please, help! Please, save him from your wife!"