Misty
Everything else is a blur. Aviva’s screamed words. Ella’s rushed explanations. Grandma taking me by the shoulders and leading me away, tucking me in a sitting room somewhere in the depths of the castle. I barely feel her arm on my shoulder. I barely register sitting down in a chair, holding the bloody pages in my lap and watching the firelight dance over the untidy scrawl I know so well.
I sit there for what could be hours. Eventually, I’m joined by Sarah and Kenna… and then Aviva.
Still, I haven’t read the letter. I’ve read my name, addressed at the top of the first page, over and over again. This is his final goodbye, and I’m not ready to accept that.
“What are we supposed to do?” Kenna grinds out. “The reports coming out of Tarsian are–”
“I don’t f*****g care what they are
