36
~Lisa's POV
He was gone.
He was really gone.
And I… I couldn't do anything to stop it.
I sank to the ground as much as the restraints allowed, my hands shaking, heart beating so violently I thought it might stop altogether. I cried, gasped, clawed at the earth like I could dig him back up. My voice grew hoarse, my tears burning like fire.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, over and over, "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
But the world didn't care.
And neither did they.
Because just as I lifted my head, the guards moved.
They released the chains from the execution post and dragged me forward. I didn't resist. I couldn't. My body was limp, my mind blank, except for one agonizing truth: I'd led him to his death.
And now it was my turn.
They threw me onto the flogging post. My stomach pressed against the cold wood, my arms tied down, my back bare.
I barely felt the first lash.
But the second broke through the numbness.
The third made me scream.
