I sat huddled on the edge of the narrow bed, knees tucked to my chest, the cabin swaying in slow, nauseating rolls.
Thorne stood by the door. Watching. Silent.
My fingers kept brushing the amulet at my chest. It was the only thing they hadn’t taken—the only piece of myself I still had.
Phoenix still had the book. But this… this I could touch. It helped. A little.
Because I was here now.
Whereverherewas.
And whatever came next... I would have no choice but to endure it.
To do whatever Vael demanded.
“You know,” I said quietly, “the old you would never let this happen.”
My voice trembled, but I didn’t stop.
“You used to get this look—like you’d burn the world down before you let anyone touch me.”
I swallowed.
“But now? You just sit there. Like you’re nothing. Likeyou’re not even in there anymore.”
I shook my head, blinking hard. “And you leave me tohim.”
“Do you even know what he’s going to do to me?” I asked, my voice raw. “Do you, Thorne?”
I stepped forward, the weight of the ship pressing in like a second skin.
“BecauseIknow.” My voice cracked.
“I know how he hurts people. He lives for it. Twists it into something sacred. And me?”
I laughed, bitter and hollow. “He’s probably been planning this foryears.”
Thorne didn’t flinch. “Your sob story is irrelevant.” His voice was flat. Robotic.
I stared at him. “You said that to me once.” My words dropped like a stone. “It was a lie then, too.”
Vael stepped inside, his smile wide and wrong. “We’re here, precious!” he sang, happiness dripping off him like oil. “Icannotwait for you to see what I’ve made for us.”
He stepped up to me and took my hand.
I snapped it away. “Don’t touch me.”
Vael sighed, all theatrical disappointment, then seized my wrist in a grip like iron. His skin crackled—faint sparks biting the air between us. A warning. A threat.
“Elira,” he said, calm and cold. “This is not the way to behave.”
His voice was soft. Almost gentle. But it curled around me like a leash.
I tried to twist free. “Let go.”
“You used to be so sweet,” he murmured, tightening his hold. “So obedient. What happened toher?”
“She grew up.”
