MAYA
It’s been a year and six months since that night in the clearing, since the scream that tore out of me, since Nanny carried me away over her shoulder, since Xander’s grinning face was the last thing I saw before everything went black.
Some people have a turning point in life, a moment where everything shifts and they step into strength, or suddenly decide to wear a cape and save the world. I never wanted that. I wasn’t interested in becoming anyone’s hero.
Especially not for the people who had spent years mocking me, whispering behind my back, shaming me for something I had no control over. If I was ever going to sacrifice my peace, my safety, my life, it would be for people who deserved it. Not for strangers who had already decided I was less than them.
That night had changed me
