Astoria’s POV
I was standing in a dark, cold dungeon. The walls stretched so far up that I couldn't see the ceiling. Everything echoed—the dripping sound, my breathing, the soft shuffle of rats somewhere behind me.
Then I saw them.
My father…
My stepmother…
My siblings.
All of them were standing on the other side of the bars, looking down at me like I was some kind of animal. Their expressions were full of hatred, the same hatred I had seen all my life.
“What did you expect?” my stepmother’s voice rang. “You think you can run away? You think someone will protect you?”
My father clicked his tongue. “You should have stayed quiet like always. Look where your stubbornness brought you.”
I shook my head, backing away. “Please… please don’t do this. I didn’t do anything.”
My older siste
