Celeste's POV:
The fifth time I woke up, I did not scream or struggle. I simply lay still, waiting for the familiar knife.
My enemy was no longer just Corwin. It was both of them... Corwin and Aaron.
I was alone and hopelessly outmatched. If I fought them head-on, I would die without question. I needed a perfect plan. A plan that would turn the two brothers against each other.
Corwin arrived right on schedule. I did not even bother pretending anymore.
"Do it."
He hesitated for a moment, clearly surprised that I already knew what was coming, but the knife in his hand did not waver.
The sixth time.
The seventh time.
The eighth time.
I used each of those chances to go over every detail, again and again.
Aaron was greedy and paranoid. Corwin was volatile and consumed by insecurity.
