MALIA’S POV:

Malia trudged through the castle, shuffling her feet, which seemed as heavy as rocks. She had never been less sure about her future. And as if the accident-inducing gremlins of her past had returned to chip the old chinks in her machinery, her toe caught on the door’s threshold as she stepped into her bedroom, and she tripped.

Malia went tumbling forward and fell flat on the floor. “Ow!” she screamed, squirming in pain, holding her knee. “Oh, ...