on Co

e cold stone, a searing pa

n blurring, then slowly, agonizingl

g her in his arms, his cheek p

were filled with a tenderness I

his gaze colder than i

lled with a furious protectiveness I had never witnessed

in his embrace, s

zy, Archer! She attacked me fo

words, dripping with false inno

' favorite toy! She's

. My father's preci

iumphant smirk flashing ac

sped, my voice ra

ather's keepsake!

rowed, his grip ti

control. Spoiled. Vicious. I'm disappointed in you

ologize to K

od ran

log

ever

truly

spat, defiance b

ardened. He pull

confined. Give her ten times what Kenne

s materialized, the

ding. My arms were twisted behind my back,

, walked away, his back to me

there, to the

s complete indifference to my suffer

y shattered, cru

rutal, just as Ar

ack a scream, refusing to give them, or Ar

vision blurred with

t like a br

d me, a broken rag d

the hard floor li

s my back hit the ground. I curled into a ball, shaking

ered, a desperate prayer.

mercifully

rea

s gentle smile, my mother laughing nearby. A dream of a norm

eet, agoniz

attered by a spl

ing open, my body con

lammed into me. I was lyi

bedroom.It wasn'

e wa