Malrik POV

The day had started off without incident quiet, focused. I didn’t expect it to unravel so quickly. But then my aunt showed up. And she wasn’t alone.

Drethos walked in at her side, and just like that, the calm I’d finally found dissolved into frustration.

I had been learning to breathe again to exist in a space where the future didn’t feel like a cage. But of course, he had to come ruin that, throwing around ultimatums like he hadn’t already sacrificed enough.

It was ...