Leaving the estate wasn’t easy.
Not because I didn’t want fresh air or to see the town, but because from the second we got into the car, I could feel the shift in energy.
Nella drove, hands confidently on the wheel, flicking her glossy black hair over her shoulder every so often like she was on some magazine cover.
Every now and then, she would glance at her reflection in the rearview mirror, pout slightly, and adjust her lipstick.
When we pulled up near a row of patrol warriors doing drills, Nella let out a soft giggle—then, in the most exaggerated sweet voice I had ever heard, she leaned halfway out the window and called out, “Hey handsome, don’t work too hard!”
I watched in growing disbelief as a young warrior barely spared her a glance before barking an order to the others and wal
