Kael POV
“I’m sorry,” Magnus Blackwood whispers into her hair, his voice cracking for the first time since I arrived. “I’m so sorry, little star. For everything.”
Harper is bawling too hard to respond, just holding on to him like she can stop time through sheer force of will. It’s almost touching, in a twisted way. Almost enough to make me feel something approaching sympathy.
Almost.
“Say goodbye,” I tell them flatly. “You’ll never see each other again.”
Harper’s sobs turn into a howl at that, high and keening. She clutches at her father’s shirt, her knuckles white with the force of her grip.
“Papa, no. Please, I can’t—I won’t—”
“Be strong,” Magnus Blackwood murmurs, pulling back to look at her face. “You’re stronger than you know. Find somewhere safe, somewhere quiet. Make a life f
