a

ed back to grab my threadbare jacket from the cot. As I did,

ing heavy and dark that glinted in the faint

dallion. Cale

od ran

?" I demanded, my voice

. She was afraid you'd be punished for leaving it, so she pick

et me killed. The object felt like a brand, a symbol of my

ce. "Throw it in the woods. Bury it. I don't c

er eyes wide wi

ge. I walked through the manicured gardens, a ghost gliding through a world I didn

was slightly ajar, a sliver of golden light spilling into the dar

s slump. I summoned the image of my mother in her

o soft it was

ired voice cal

desk, rubbing his temples as if trying to soothe a headache. Papers were stacked neat

thick with years of neg

y took me in. He was seeing my mother's ghost standing in his study. He saw the smu

potent-crossed his face. He cleared his

spy. "Sit. Are you... settli

w, the obligatory words

hands, my eyes downcast. I let a single tear well up, clinging to my l

eer, stubborn pride, seemed to undo him

ce trembling just enough. "As long as I'm he

lly constructed lie of my contentment was a knife

ll man, but he seemed diminished by the weight of his own conscience. He re

nched back, a sharp, jerky mov

. Years of being unwanted, of being treated as

th what he had done, and what he had failed to do. The guil

d drop to his

usty from disuse. His tone was softer now, str

is desk. I obeyed, perching on the edge of the

opposite me, closing the distance. He started to talk, his voice low, telling me sma

rance. But inside, my mind was sharp and cold as ice. T

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