Malrik POV

“We live on the east side Crissvile, just by the small Fiji village,” Ansel began.

I stayed still, unreadable, but the words landed in me like a blade. Crissvile. Near Fiji. That alone warranted more questions, but I held myself back. Let him speak. Let the whole truth come out before I decided what to do with it.

“We used to live in Fiji,” he continued, voice steady but weighted by an old, unhealed wound. “After my mother was killed, we moved to Crissvile. It wasn’t ...