I stand frozen on the dew-slicked east lawn, Felix's dismissal still echoing between us. My shoulder burns where his fingers brushed it, a mark no one else can see. The recruits have scattered but I cannot move, trapped between the future I need and the punishment I ache to receive.

He is the duke, untouchable and absolute. I am nothing but a common recruit desperate to advance, my origins a secret I carry like shame. Yet every command he issues pulls me closer to the moment his palm will meet my bare skin in the shadows of the shed, turning my insecurity into something I finally deserve.

One more step and I lose everything. One command from him and I gain the only belonging that matters.