"I wish you had never been born."
Roxy woke with a violent jolt, her body seizing as if she had been electrocuted. Her hands flew up to her throat, gasping for air, expecting the smell of stale cigarette smoke and bleach.
But there was no bleach. There was only the smell of warm vanilla and the earthy musk of the sunroom.
"Hhh..." Roxy let out a shuddering breath, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
She looked to her side. Syris was still asleep, his pale face peaceful in the dim light, his chest rising and falling in a slow rhythm. He hadn't stirred. Thank the System.
That was the first step of healing.
Roxy pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle a sob. The dream had been so vivid. It had peeled back the layers of strength she had built as a Luna, exposing the scared little girl underneath who just wanted her mother to look at her without hatred.
