"Again."
Kael stared at me.
I didn't know why that word felt so important.
"Tell me again," I whispered.
He sat beside my bed.
The battle was over, but the fortress was still filled with wounded soldiers and frightened families.
I should have been resting.
Instead, I needed to know the story I had forgotten.
Kael took my hand.
"All right."
He smiled, though sadness remained in his eyes.
"The first time I saw you, you were standing on an execution platform."
I frowned.
"I was?"
He nodded.
"You were thin. Exhausted. Your wrists were bleeding from the chains."
Something pulled at my chest.
I closed my eyes.
For a second, I saw stone beneath my feet.
Chains.
A crowd.
Then it disappeared.
"I remember the feeling," I whispered.
Kael's fingers tightened around mine.
"What
