ella

a silent sentinel waiting for his cargo. Silas, blin

arla. Now," he ordered

e fixed on my lips. The defiance in my eyes made Silas's triumphant expression falter. Enrage

ross my cheek, the force snapping my head to the s

d, I drove my forehead hard into Carla's stomach. She wheezed, the

arla gasped, clut

y arms, their thick fingers bruising my skin as they pinned me in place. Carla, her face twisted in ugly fur

r's wrist. "Not the face, Mama," Clara hissed, her voice de

nothing but merchandise. Carla's chest heaved, but a cruel understandi

Carla ordered the men

ck salt. They pressed their weight onto my shoulders, grinding my flesh into the

, just like your mother," C

t thread of my restraint. The pain fade

ck walls. "She had a dowry! A restaurant in the heart of Little Italy! Silas gambled it

physical blow. Her parasitic existence laid bare, she went completely feral. She shoved the cou

she shrieked wi

her's oldest friend, rushed into the courtyard. She reached for Carla's a

o for interfering

, dead calm settled over my mind. I ignored Carla and locked e

e chaos. "But if I live... I will whisper in The Vulture's ear how sweet my untouched lit

in my promise drained the color from her face. For th

outh to speak, but a new voi

s name is goi

ldier from an allied family, and a face from my childhood. His ex

worried concern. "She stayed out all night, Luca," Carla lied smoothly, smo

ca inside to see Silas, seamlessly

ack out alone. He knelt beside me, his eyes full of pity. He gently dabbed a cut on my

zzy," he whispered. "I'll br

as the gate clicked shut behind him, Clara saunt

nly back in New York for his own wedding. The Commission arrange

flicker of hope in my chest. There was no

hanged into the clean, simple dress they had laid out for the buyer. I walked over to my rickety dresser, my fing

o the folds of my hair. I was re