Aveline
The moment I returned to my room, I locked the door behind me and let the silence wash over me. I pressed my forehead to the wooden frame and let out a breath I’d been holding since that godawful meeting. My lungs were tight, my head pounding, and all I wanted was to tear the mark off my skin and pretend none of this was real.
Gideon’s words echoed like poison through my mind: You bring death into our ranks. You bring the blood of betrayers into this council.
He didn’t even see me as a person. Just a threat in human form. A curse.
I sat down on the edge of the bed, still in the formal jumpsuit Mila had picked out, my fingers tangling in the fabric. I didn’t cry. I didn’t scream. I just sat there, numb and furious and so damn tired of being hunted.
A soft knock pulled me out of
