KEIR
My eyes were wide as I looked at Zoraya. Her body was swollen and beaten beyond recognition. Her skin had turned pale, with raw patches, and she was soaked, as if she had been dragged out of the water. Her torn clothes were covered in bloodstains and other foul, unidentifiable marks. She appeared to have been through hell—a twisted version of the Zoraya I had once met.
The stench clung to her, and the sight blurred my vision as an overwhelming flood of emotions crashed into me. It wasn't until I was unable to breathe that I realized I was no longer covering my nose.
How could Zoraya be here? She was supposed to be dead, along with the rest of her family. How had she ended up like this? What kind of nightmare had she endured to end up in this condition?
Suddenly, I realized my pho
