Finally granted a reprieve from the pummeling, Cade rolls himself back over in a daze, blood dripping from his nose and mouth onto the floor below. He's a terrible sight, the top half of his face already bruising and swelling, his eyes streaming, the bottom half under a solid sheen of blood.
Then he hears his name, and two familiar voices, and he knows it's too late; there's no controlling the situation now.
"No," he feebly protests, to an unspoken accusation, his chest tightening and his mind going on high alert as the pain starts to set in. He did it again, he's going to be taken or sent away, he's going to be killed, and no amount of diplomacy or pleading will stop it. This is it, the final, damning mistake.