Chapter 10: My Most Precious Thing

I look at the two people on the floor. My father, who taught me to ride a bike. Isolde, who curled my hair for my mother's funeral and told me I looked pretty, and then locked me in this room for crying at the grave. "Elena." Damiano's voice is patient. "Say the word." I open my mouth. And what comes out is: "No." He goes rigid. "No?" "They're monsters." My voice breaks. "But if you kill them in front of me, I'll see it every time I close my eyes for the rest of my life. And I've got so...