Page 181 of Poison Aches

No weaknesses.

But most importantly,don’t fucking break.

“To give him a chance?” Grandfather repeats, his voice deepening. “Is it up to you to give him a fighting chance?”

If I were a normal boy, raised in a normal family, with a mind that works as it should for my age, I would behave as normal… but nothing about me, my life or this Family is normal.

“No, sir.”

“So why?” he demands, but his intimidation doesn’t work on me. Sometimes I think he suspects that.

“I did it because I wanted to… sir.” I add that last part at the very last second.

I stand up straight and wait.

I know it’s coming.

It always does.

And itdoescome.

I sense movement behind me before I hear the sibilant sound and then…thawk!

Fire licks my bare back like an intense inferno.

The hits come down on my back fifteen times in quick succession.

I don’t have time to breathe, nor do I have time to process or brace myself, but mentally I’m not here.

Instead, I stare at the man in front of me, holding his gaze unflinchingly.

It hurts like hell, but fuck that, I’ve dealt with worse. In fact, every heartbeat, I deal with worse, so I take the punishment.

“What’s your mistake?” Grandfather asks after it’s done.

I suck in low pants of air, trying to revive my body as best as I can without actually giving in to the fatigue.

“Playing with the prey,” I mutter through gritted teeth.

“Ah… so you knew you were playing with him for the last half hour instead of dealing with him immediately and effectively?” Grandfather says in his deep tone. “You are the next boss of this Family. Show them how we deal with insubordination and disrespect.”

The command is clear.

The tension that spikes up in the room is even worse, tighter than a rubber band pulled back, but I have my instructions.

I know this isn’t about me… nor is it about why I fought my cousin in the first place.

No, this is far deeper than that.

This is a tightly-ran empire.

Disobedience from the direct family line is not allowed, because it might trickle down to the rest of the Outfit.

I know all this. Grandfather taught me everything by hand… literally.

So, I turn around and stalk over slowly to where my cousin now stands, where he’s panting low and labored.

He was also raised in the Family, he knows what’s about to happen, so he braces himself to fight back with a look of defiance.

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