is

ne screen, and the transf

anished, replaced by a wave of raw, undis

, so fast I might have i

ping to a low murmur. But my hearing was still sharp. I hear

r tone laced with tears a

ed..." Her voice was a broken whisper,

never seen before-pure, unadulterated terror. The voice he used was one he had nev

ll be there in a few minutes.

ni

brand, searing it

eating the steak he cut is rebelling against him, was now cooing reassurances to the woman wh

one floor, forgotten

ng he would be there in minutes, tel

ct of torture, slicing awa

washed over me. I finally saw my place i

e, his face a mask

glance. He turned, ready t

d grabbed the cuff of his pants. My voice was

, then at my face, and the cold, di

you. You're not dying," he sa

warning. "But Daniela... she and th

The final,

ild-their child-while dismissing the one I had just lost

and. The gesture was sharp, dismissive, and utterly final. My knuck

ck retreating down the corrido

my lips. It wasn't a

it had looped back around to bitter irony. It echoed

id or didn't do. I could have been the perfect mat

I wasn't

protection, all his care-it

. Suspicion, disgust, and a

or self-pity. Those were the tears of the death of hope and love. T

he cold night wind whip around me. My body was freezing, but

pped. I just stared out at the d

d. It was small at first, a tiny spark in the darknes

to end

ly, not for my pack, not for the ghost of

had to do

king, my whole body a symphony of aches. The pain in my wom

ace. The emptiness in my eyes was

had to do it in the one wa