The boy wheezed, words rasping past the chokehold. "B-betrayed… I… I was treated like fodder…" His hazel eyes bulged, but desperation sharpened them. "Before the dead rose… they used me… always the first into danger… left me behind when the gates fell. Nearly bitten—more than once—because they said my life wasn’t worth as much. I… I don’t want to be someone’s bait anymore. I came… because I heard… you—" He coughed hard, his voice breaking. "You’re strong. I thought if I could serve you… I wouldn’t die like a pest."
Crimora’s grip trembled. Her flames flickered uncertainly. The raw plea sliced through her rage—not because she pitied him, but because his words echoed too close to her own curse. Used. Hunted. Never given peace.
Kael stepped closer, his hand brushing against the inside of he
