“Do you think I wasn’t?” she asked fiercely. “He was furious with her. He beat her every day for almost a week. I couldn’t stand it. We’d located him by that time, and I knew what he was doing to her. But if I’d tried to attack the camp to free her, he would have killed her. He finally stopped it himself. He apparently didn’t want to damage her too badly.” She added sarcastically, “After all, he had to think of his horses. If she was as good as he’d heard, she was of value to him. Besides, he had another idea: He started to make her watch him beat another student every day in her place. It worked beautifully.” Alina’s voice was bitter. “She said she’d do anything he wanted if he’d only stop hurting them. She stopped fighting him and agreed to go wherever he asked whenever he was ready for her. Masenak knew he’d won. Right now he treats her rather like a pet that he’s tamed and keeps on a leash. He even allows her the freedom he doesn’t permit the other prisoners so that she remains exercised and healthy. It’s clear he’s regarding her as property, too.” She looked away from him. “But I know her. She won’t stand for it much longer. I have to get her out of there.”

“That’s pretty damn clear.” He was studying her expression, “I can see you’re upset as hell about this girl. Start at the beginning. She’s more than just one of the students. She’s important to you.”

“They’re all important to me.”

“Anything I want to know,” he said, repeating her own words softly. “Tell me.”

She was silent. “I’ve been sponsoring Sasha at St. Eldon’s Academy for the last five years,” she said finally. “I was the one responsible for her being there at the time when Masenak attacked.”

“Sponsoring? That’s a very exclusive school. She’s a relation of some sort?”