Kael's Pov
I didn't remember moving. One second I was in that gods-damned room, surrounded by laughter and cruelty, and the next—I was kneeling on the floor with her in my arms, wrapping my coat tightly around her trembling frame.
She didn't speak. She didn't even flinch.
Just… silence.
Like something inside her had finally died.
Maybe it was instinct. Something deeper than thought or command had taken over, driving me to her, pulling me toward the place where her body had crumpled like a discarded thing.
My limbs worked on their own, because my mind… my mind was somewhere else entirely. Caught in that one, frozen image—her knees buckling, her shoulders curling inward, and no one doing a damn thing.
I carried her through the halls without a word, without even noticing the horrified looks of those who caught a glimpse. I didn't care. Let them see. Let them wonder what the fuck happened.
