— MARA |
They kept me in the dining room for hours.
Tied to a chair. Guards watching. Katarina checking in periodically like I was an experiment she was monitoring.
I didn't fight.
Didn't scream.
Didn't do anything except exist in the numbness that had settled over me.
My father was a murderer.
A thief.
A traitor.
And I was paying for his sins.
Just like he'd paid for them.
The cycle was complete.
The door opened.
Cassian walked in.
I looked up. Saw him.
Bloodied. Dirty. Alive.
He'd come back.
Why had he come back?
"Untie her," he ordered.
The guards looked at each other. Uncertain.
"I said untie her. Now."
They moved. Cut the ropes.
My wrists were raw. Bleeding slightly.
Cassian's jaw tightened when he saw them.
But he didn't touch me.
Just stood there. Watching.
