Free Beyond the Red by Ava Jae

and they’d all deny it, and I’d be in deeper trouble for supposedly lying—which the Sepharon take as a personal affront.
    “I slipped and knocked into the table,” I say.
    “You slipped.”
    I nod. “Sha.”
    “Sha, ve .”
    Sir. I have to call him “sir.” I bite the inside of my cheek. Take a deep breath. “Sha , ve .”
    Something sparks in his pale blue-to-nearly-black eyes. “Tell me, half-blood. How did you manage to slip while sitting?”
    Jarek smirks, but I ignore him. “I dropped a bottle and it spilled. When I stood to retrieve it, I slipped in the puddle.”
    “Are you normally that uncoordinated, half-blood?”
    My fingers tighten to fists. Relax. “Naï, ve .”
    “Then get yourself in order.” He slaps the side of my head and I stagger sideways. A slap doesn’t sound like much, but it sets my face stinging and my ear ringing. “Clean up this disaster before I decide you deserve further punishment.”
    My face is burning, but not from pain. I clench my teeth and continue cleaning up the bottles and stoppers as the commander and Jarek step toward the other men.
    “Well,” the commander says, “you may have already heard what’s happening beyond the gates. When I dismiss you, you’ll put on your armor, retrieve your weapons, and wait in the barracks for further instructions.”
    I allow myself a small smile. I have no idea what’s happening in the city, but if they need to gear up and go out there, it must be something bad.
    Good.
    “If I may, ve . Before we begin.”
    I glance back. The spitting solider is speaking.
    “You may.”
    The soldier steps forward. “The slave was lying, ve .”
    I freeze in mid-reach. Exhale and pick up a bottle. Place it on the table and force myself not to stare.
    “Oh?”
    “He didn’t slip, ve . He became angry and threw over the table on purpose. We tried to stop him, but he would not listen to reason, ve. ”
    A long pause. I abandon the pretense of cleaning and make eye contact with the soldier. He keeps his face blank and his eyes flicker to mine for only a moment.
    “Is this true?” the commander asks his men.
    They nod in unison; not a single one of them hesitates. The commander turns back to me. “Come here, half-blood.”
    I place two bottles back onto the table, then step onto the mats. All eyes are on me now, and with the commander distracted, the spitting soldier shoots me a pleasant smile. It takes every ounce of my self-control not to step in front of him and knock his teeth out.
    “It would appear you have lied to me,” the commander says.
    I don’t answer. Neither denying nor confirming his accusation will help me.
    “Had you confessed your error in judgment, I would have been more inclined to be lenient with your punishment, but as it is, you leave me little choice. I do not tolerate disrespect, and deception is a great form of disrespect, as I’m sure you are well aware.”
    Eye contact. Air in. Air out.
    “To the center of the mat.”
    I obey and, as I do, the soldiers form a circle around the commander and me. Punishment, apparently, is a public spectacle.
    The commander comes toward me, then swings for my face. I should take it. I should close my eyes, block out the brainblaze, stand still, and wait for it to end. It’d be the easy, smart thing to do. But while I brace myself for the hit, when his fist nears my nose, instincts kick in and I duck out of the way. The following silence and the glare from the commander sends a cold chill through my veins.
    He nods to Jarek, who all too happily steps behind me and pulls my arms back, bracing me.
    “Looks like I won’t have to try very hard to keep my promise, half-blood,” Jarek whispers.
    I know three different ways to break out of this kinduv brace, and everything inside me screams that I use one of them. But escaping the blow will only make this worse. I have to take the punishment, whatever it may be, then go back to work and hope they leave me alone. All I have to do