The scent was like the breath of snow melting into a river, carrying the purity and chill of snowwater. It appeared beside me, illuminating the darkness like a sudden light.
I took a sudden step forward, reaching out my hand to touch whatever emitted that smell.
"Snap!"
All whip sounds ceased, but instead of grabbing what I expected, my hand came up empty, and I stumbled, finally falling to the ground.
"Ugh," I couldn't help but grunt. My naked skin met the icy coldness of the stone steps, realizing I must have fallen onto the staircase.
Silence returned around me. I wasn't sure what had happened, but the long whips seemed to have disappeared suddenly.
Almost instinctively, I curled up. Except for the long cloth on my head, my clothes had long been torn apart by the whip lashes, leav
