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"Do you understand?" Starling repeated

Cade nodded

"Soon I will have you saying, ‘Yes, Mr Starling Whatever you say, Mr Starling’ But, a nod will do for now" Thehis belly to shake "I could take you to a point where you beg me to hurt you That you tell me you love me I know it seems inconceivable now, but I am a "

"See?" the Inquisitor asked, his voice full of h He has even been privileged to have experienced my touch first hand You should be honored as well, Mr Harlowe, that h to leave you in reat pleasure in lory of emperor and empire The emperor requires that you answer certain questions about your traitorous actions in Mill City, and your purpose in co to the emperor’s very door, and I can’t believe you’ve done so just to recover soht of Luke’s betrayal "Didn’t Luke tell you everything?"

"He told us you intended to bring the uprising to Gossham, and yes, to rescue Professor Josston’s favorite little servant, but not why Was she just soenerous mentor? Well, we shall have answers Indeed, we shall And I will tell you what, Mr Harlowe: the o on you" Starling popped another teacake into his ar dusted his lips and the front of his apron

"You are just going to kill oing to one’s death easily and without pain, and going to death after feeling as if all your bones were broken and rearranged, tendons severed, flesh grated, and parts of your body immolated and carved off Trustthese procedures I also have a colleague who enjoys overseeing a good castration Nowbody parts does not ell We’ve tried The results are, well, grotesque Intriguing for us, but not so in? You do realize your little rebellion has failed, do you not? We knoho a nu questioned, as well However, I want na those who collaborated with Professor Josston"

Cade thought of Jax and Mirriam and all the others, and wondered if they’d been found and arrested, or worse It was all on him, the failure of the rebellion and whatever happened to the folk of Mill City All his fault He ed to reht about it, the protecting of his comrades, but the fact of the y, he had never faced anything like this before, and none of the professor’s training had prepared him to resist an Inquisitor Back in the early days, when he’d been brought into the fold of the opposition by the professor, all such notions of personal sacrifice had been ro real He hadn’t considered what it actually felt like to be shot or tortured A true Weapon, he knew, one who had been through all the proper conditioning, would knoithstand torture

Worse than worrying about what ht happen to all those connected to hian What did they plan for her?

"Mr Harlowe," the Inquisitor said in a voice of warning, "I ahed dralanced over his shoulder "Marcus, it appears we’re going to have to do this the hard way" He turned his piercing eyes back on Cade "Are you sure this is how you want it to be, young ive you"

Starling rose and paced in a slow alanced apprehensively at the tray of sharp tools, wondering as co continued to pace and hts once again turning to Karigan and ould beco turned on his heel, pu Cade across the face, not once, not twice, but tiht his head would snap off his neck The loves raked his cheeks open He was so stunned by the ferocity of the attack he couldn’t even seeled to catch his breath Inhaled blood He wanted to touch his face, for surely his flesh had been shredded to ribbons

"That, Mr Harlowe," Starling said, "was justto clear his vision Starling stood before him, hands on hips, his apron and sleeves sprayed with blood

"Isaid "Soues, well, they’ll use ain artistry Or, they’ll have an assistant exert the it ates I like the old tools, too" He flexed his hands in the stained gloves "Now, Mr Harloould you care to give in to work on you in earnest? If you do, Marcus will heal up what I’ve done so far, and we’ll get you so you like What do you say?"