Alessia:
The nursery was quiet.
And I found myself staring into space the second that I walked inside.
Hope slept in her crib, wrapped in soft white blankets, one tiny fist resting near her cheek. The lamplight cast a golden glow over her face, making her look almost unreal, too perfect for a world that felt like it was slowly sharpening its claws.
I stood beside her crib, one hand resting on the edge, the other holding the locket.
The heart-shaped one.
Seraphina’s gift.
I hadn’t put a picture in it yet.
I couldn’t bring myself to give it to my child after everything. It would be me giving into whatever she had done.
I turned it over in my fingers, staring at my reflection in the polished silver. My face looked calmer than I felt. I was furious, and the thoughts that kept cours
