EIRLYS' POV
I didn’t understand what had just happened to me. One moment, I was getting ready for bed; the next, there was a sharp sting in my belly and a sudden warmth trickling down my legs... then the blood.
When I saw the red stains on my sheets, my breath caught in my throat. My chest tightened until it hurt, and for a heartbeat, I was back in that tower—the endless darkness, the cold stone walls pressing in, the air sharp with fear and pain. For a moment, I thought… Master and Mistress had found me.
Had I been whipped? Beaten?
My mind screamed not again, not again, and I curled tighter against the wall, my body aching and my breath coming in shallow, panicked gasps.
Suddenly, the door burst open. Kierygan rushed inside, his eyes wide with alarm. And in that instant, I knew I was
