HEIR OF PAIN
No matter how much he tried to endure, no matter how much he tried to stay invisible, this house would always be a prison.
Arden laid on the cold floor, his body trembling with pain that clawed at every inch of him. His back burned like fire, the iron’s mark still fresh, searing through his skin with every breath. His arms shook as he tried to push himself up, but the weight of his uncle’s blows and the sharp ache in his ribs forced him down again.
His uncle and aunt had just left, leaving only silence. A silence broken by the shallow gasps that left Arden’s lips. He wished it would end. The pain. Everything.