Blood and smoke fill my nostrils as the memory of my brother comes to mind. I can almost hear the sound of his ragged, heavy breathing as he chased me while I glanced back over my shoulder and locked eyes with him. I remember the way he looked at me. It was as if I was already dead.

“You are the one who will die first,” he said as he threw a blade at me that tore through my side before I could process the betrayal.

My mind is pulled to the present as Maya shifts on my lap. Does she regret ...