Chapter 6: A Cruelty Meant to Save

The fragile truce of the full moon night didn't last. The familiar, hellish cycle of pain and reluctant relief resumed its tyrannical rule over our lives. Kael would appear every three days, a grim, silent specter at my door. The interactions were brief, functional, and devoid of the unexpected vulnerability he’d shown in his apartment. The Hunter’s mask was firmly back in place. The man who had spoken of his mother’s poetry was gone, replaced by the cold warden of our shared prison. Lyra,...