LOGINKali's POVMy bones cried with every movement as I cleaned the kitchen.The ache had settled deep, the kind that no amount of stretching could chase away. My shoulders burned as I scrubbed the counter, my fingers stiff and swollen, knuckles scraped raw from hours of work. The smell of soap clung to my skin, sharp and bitter, mixing with the lingering scent of cooked meat and spices. I moved slowly, carefully, as if any sudden motion might cause me to shatter.I was rinsing a pot when Zara’s voice echoed behind me.“Why do you do this?”I startled so hard the pot nearly slipped from my hands. Water splashed onto my skirt as I turned, heart hammering. Zara stood a few steps away, leaning against the doorframe, her arms folded loosely across her chest. She watched me with an expression I couldn’t quite place. Not anger. Not pity. I swallowed and looked back at the sink. “I don’t have a choice,” I said.The words came easily. Too easily. They were well-worn, smoothed down by years of use
Ike's POV I trudged through the hall, struggling to keep myself from giving in to the pain.Each step sent a sharp protest up my leg, through my ribs, and straight into my skull. Blood soaked my shirt, warm and slick, clinging to my skin. The world narrowed to the sound of my own breathing, which was ragged and uneven, and the distant echo of my boots against the marble floor. I focused on that sound because if I focused on anything else, I would fall.The stairs rose in front of me. I took a deep breath before I gripped the railing and hauled myself upward, one step at a time, my vision swimming. By the time I reached the landing, my hands were shaking so badly I could barely keep my balance. I leaned against the wall, my chest heaving, trying to will my heartbeat to slow.That was when Emmett saw me.He hurried towards me with panicked footsteps. “Ike,” he said, grabbing my arm before I could slide to the floor. “What the hell happened to you?”I tried to straighten, to look like I
Kali’s POVA sharp ringing exploded in my ears the moment her palm connected with my cheek.For a second, the world tilted.Sound blurred into a high pitched whine, like metal scraping against glass inside my head. I didn’t even register the pain at first. I just stood there, frozen, staring at Kora as if she were someone I had never seen before.Her face was twisted in anger.“Are you blind?” Kora barked. “You just ruined my new dress, you freak!”My fingers went numb. The silver tray slipped from my hands before I could stop it. It hit the floor with a loud clang, followed by the sickening crash of porcelain as the two cups of coffee shattered, dark liquid splashing across the stone tiles.The smell of burnt coffee filled the air.“You bumped into me,” I said, the words tumbling out before fear could clamp my mouth shut.Kora’s eyes widened slowly, disbelief giving way to something far uglier. “Are you talking back to me, freak?”My heart pounded violently. Every instinct screamed a
Kali’s POV I stood by the window of my house, watching Ike drive away. I could not bring myself to feel bad, or I might feel shitty for the rest of my life. That phase of my life was over, I always knew it would be over. Now I was back to my hell, and I would deal with it like I always had, with I opened the wardrobe slowly, like it might bite me. Everything was still there. My old clothes hung limply from the wooden rail, faded and worn, the fabric thin from years of use. Dresses with frayed hems. Shirts that had lost their shape. Skirts patched at the seams. Nothing like the soft fabrics and beautiful clothes I had worn at Emmett’s place. My chest tightened. I reached for a dress I recognized immediately. It was a plain brown dress, with a pink patch at the hem. I stepped into it anyway. The fabric clung to me, tight around my shoulders and hips, uncomfortable in a way that made my skin itch. I tugged it down. Like I was trying to squeeze myself back into a life I
Ike's POV I was halfway to the door when it opened again.Zara walked in.One look at her and my chest tightened. Dark circles bruised the skin beneath her eyes, her shoulders slumped in a way that told me she hadn’t slept. Not really. She looked like someone who had spent the night fighting a battle she couldn’t win.I stopped.She lifted her gaze to me, and I already knew the answer before I asked.“She didn’t change her mind, did she?”Zara’s lips pressed together. For a heartbeat she looked like she might try to lie, like she might spare me the truth. Then sadness flickered through her eyes and she shook her head.“No,” she said quietly. “I tried. I really did. But she’s just… she’s too afraid of these people.”Something squeezed painfully around my heart.I watched as tears welled up in her eyes, the kind she was trying desperately not to let fall. Zara was not someone who cried easily. Seeing her like this made anger coil tight in my gut. Anger at Maduro. At Hera. At every sing
Zara's POV "I am not leaving!" Ike glanced up at me, a deadpanned look on his face. "We have to leave. For now." "I am not running away and leaving Ko... Kali here with these snakes! Who knows what they would do to here!" "We are not running away. We will definitely come back for her, but right now, I need to make sure you return to Shadow clan in one piece. If I start anything here, you could get hurt. And I am only one man. I need our army, I need Aiden. And most importantly, we need a plan." He sighed, then placed both hands on my shoulder. "I know you want to save her, but it would be foolish of us to do anything that might get you hurt or even Kora. Besides, Maduro has the most of the other clans behind him. We need to think our next plan throughout." But I could not be convinced. Not with the guilt gnawing at me. It was my fault Kali came here. If I hadn't insisted.... I shrugged his hands off. "Then you go. Come up with whatever ever plan you want, then come back







