The pen hovered after the words.I imagined the chain reaction: Nicholas discovering the truth, taking control of Carl’s treatment, maybe saving him, but at the cost of my own autonomy.I tore the page out and stuffed it in the bottom drawer with the others.Morning broke with a brittle pink sky. So
Esther’s POVThe moon had already climbed past the roof when I finally closed the infirmary door behind me. Carl lay sleeping under a haze of sedatives, the thin sheet rising and falling with his fragile breath. Sofia had curled into the chair beside him, thumb tucked under her cheek, dreaming throu
“Put… me… down,” he rasped.His voice was weak but the hostility in it shocked me.“I’m taking you inside,” I said quietly.“No!” His small hands twitched like claws against my chest.“Carl, stop.” Esther’s voice cracked. “He’s helping.”The boy’s eyes darted to hers, then back to me. His lip curled
Esther’s POVI’d barely closed the infirmary door when the vibration against my hip startled me. My phone pulsed with a message from the caretaker assigned to the twins in the guest wing:Kids won’t nap. Acting restless. Asking for you.I stared at the text until it blurred. They’d been restless for
Kevin’s mouth tightened. “Three months?”“Yes,” I whispered.He leaned closer. “If he hurts you—”“He won’t.” My lie burned my throat.Finally he let out a harsh breath, stepped back, and gave a sharp nod. “Fine.”I exhaled shakily.He turned to go, casting Nicholas one last look of pure loathing. T
Esther’s POVKevin’s scent reached me before his voice did. Pine and iron, sharp as a storm front. I’d been in the palace infirmary checking inventory when the alarms rippled through the halls. There were raised voices, hurried boots, then a Beta’s barked orders. By the time I reached the main hall,