he air, thick and poison

sabella. He was desecrating

mething that shattered the last remaining piece of my composure. H

hink I' ll go down there and spit on their

om Sophia' s throat. She launched herself at him,

t his target wasn' t Sophia. He shoved her aside and took a thr

wled. "You want to protect those pieces

took over. I threw myself in front of him, my arms spread wide as if I

aid, my voice low and trembling

ised his hand. I braced for another slap, but he did something worse. He shoved me, hard. I stumbled backwar

ng Isabella, watching as his nephew assaulted

m. Her eyes were red from crying, but ther

ce a perfect imitation of gentle concern. "It' s not their

stop him. She was goading him, reinforcing the idea

He was the hero, protecti

heatrical, protective tone. "I won' t let them upset you a

Sophia and me, who were now

Forget your fathers. Your only job now is to be obedient wives. If I hear o

at it barely registered as real. It was like a line fr

e and swollen, tears forgotten. A

" she said, her vo

n I had loved, the future I had imagined, it had all turned to ash

pushed myself up, my body aching, my head spinni

ce, hung in the air. We were taking bac