She's only seen the building bruise on my cheek. It's nowhere as bad as my torso. "Bad enough."
"Senna—"
"I'm fine." The lie tastes like ash. "I've survived worse."
"That's not fine!" Mira's voice cracks, and she pulls me into a careful hug, mindful of the bruises. "You shouldn't have tosurviveyour own husband. You should be able to leave. To run. To find someone who treats you the way you deserve."
"Like Lorenth?" The question comes out bitter, half-laughing. "A xaphan noble who probably has a dozen women throwing themselves at him back in New Solas? What makes you think he'd even want?—"
"He came here."
I freeze, Mira's words sinking in.
"He came all the way out to this gods-forsaken village to find you," Mira says, pulling back just enough to look at me. "That'snot the behavior of someone who's forgotten you, Senna. That's the behavior of someone who's desperate."
My chest tightens, and I think of the way Lorenth looked at me earlier. The way his storm-blue eyes darkened when he saw me. The way he moved like he couldn't help himself, like every instinct in his body was screaming at him to close the distance between us.
The way he kissed me back like I was the only thing in the world that mattered.
"He said my name," I whisper. "Like—like he'd been holding onto it for weeks. Like it hurt him to finally say it out loud."
Mira's expression softens. "Then you know he wants you. The question is—what are you going to do about it?"
"Nothing." The word comes out flat, automatic. "What can I do? I'm married. Darian would never let me go. He'd hunt me down and drag me back, and it would be so much worse than this."
"Or Lorenth could protect you."
"He's one xaphan."
"He's anoble," Mira counters. "With wings and magic and probably an entire network of connections in New Solas. If anyone can keep you safe from Darian, it's him."
I shake my head, fear coiling tight in my stomach. "You didn't see the way Darian looked at him. At me. If I run—if I leave with Lorenth—Darian will lose his mind. He'll come after us. He'll?—"
"He'll what?" Mira's voice hardens. "He'll hit you? He already does that. He'll scream at you? Lock you in the house? Make you feel like you're nothing? Senna, he'salreadydoing all of that. What do you have to lose by trying?"
Everything.
That's what I want to say.
Because as terrible as my life is now, at least I know what to expect. I know how to navigate Darian's moods, how to makemyself small enough to avoid the worst of his rage. I know the rhythms of this prison I've been living in.
But leaving?
Running with Lorenth?
That's stepping into the unknown. Into a world where I don't know the rules or the dangers or whether the bond pulling at my chest is strong enough to survive reality.
And what if it's not?
What if Lorenth realizes I'm not worth the trouble? What if he gets tired of me, or the bond fades, or he decides he made a mistake?
What if I trade one cage for another?
"I can't," I whisper, and the words feel like a death sentence. "I'm too afraid."
Mira's hands tighten on my shoulders, her eyes blazing. "Then you need to get over that fear. Because if you stay here, Darian is going to kill you eventually. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But one of these days, he's going to go too far, and you won't walk away."
The truth of it sits heavy in my chest, undeniable.
