They pressed cactus pads covered in spines against every inch of exposed skin, embedding hundreds of needles into the body. The woman was left to pull them out herself, one by one. The ones buried in her back, where her hands couldn't reach, stayed. The pain never stopped. Body and mind, ground down together.
The third ordeal: the Final Trial.
For ten days, any man in the tribe could enter the woman's room at any hour, day or night. A doctor examined her daily. It continued until she was pregnant.
"No, please, I'm begging you..." I was on my knees, slamming my forehead against the ground over and over.
"Begging now? Too late for that!" Barrett grabbed my chin and forced it up, shining a high-beam flashlight directly into my eyes.
The light seared through my eyelids. I couldn't open them. All I could do was cry.
"The young master. I need to see your young master." I screamed it through my sobs, praying I could reach Declan.
"You really don't give up, do you? Fine. Our young master's coming back tomorrow."
"Tomorrow, you'll get to see him."
"That is, if you can survive the Three Ordeals..."
Before I could process what he meant, hands seized me and I was hurled into the Itch Pool.