Olivia’s POV
"Will what?" I cut him off. "Kill me like he killed my mother? Lock me away like he did yours?"
The words hit him like physical blows. For a moment, raw pain flashed across his face before his mask slipped back into place.
"Take them to the healers," he said finally, voice tight. "But this isn't over."
"No," I agreed. "It's just beginning."
In the infirmary, I helped clean the girls' wounds myself. Their names were Emily, Hazel, and Beth - sisters who'd lost their parents to one of Richard's "disciplinary actions."
"We've been watching you," Emily admitted quietly as I bandaged her back. "Since you arrived. The way you fought those warriors yesterday..."
"You gave us hope," Beth finished. "Made us think maybe we didn't have to be weak."
"You're not weak," I told them f
