Kael yelled and pulled away from Mallory. He backed her and faced the wall. “I do not want to hear it. Don't talk about my mother, don't talk about witches. Just don’t!” Seeing how furious he was, Mallory took a deep breath, then she slowly went back to him and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. She hugged him tightly from the back, rested her cheek on his scarred back. Her hands touched the marks that crossed his skin — long, rough scars that looked like scratches from a wild animal.
Her fingers moved gently over his scars. “Kael,” she whispered, “these scars... they don’t have to hurt you forever.”
Kael closed his eyes. His voice came out low and sad. “They remind me, Mallory. Of her — my mother — what she did to me. When she used that binding spell to save herself fr
