I lift my head, breathe in the charge of it.
Somewhere in this hellhole, my son is waiting.
And someone’s going to pay for making him afraid.
CHAPTER 37
KAIRO
Iwake up blindfolded. The fabric smells like old grease and smoke—like the inside of a freighter engine room left to rot. It’s rough against my skin, and the knot at the back of my head is so tight it throbs. My hands are bound, wrists aching from the angle.
But I don’t panic.
Because somewhere in this dark, stale room—I hear him.
A soft sniffle.
A hiccup.
“Ben?” My voice is hoarse, dry, like it’s been scraped over sand. “Baby, are you here?”
A pause. Then?—
“Mommy?”
Relief slams through me so fast I nearly collapse.
“Oh, thank God. I’m here. I’m right here.”
I shuffle forward, letting my knees hit the cold concrete floor. I stretch my arms as far as the restraints allow. Something warm and small collides into me hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs.
“Don’t cry, don’t cry,” I murmur into his curls. “You’re safe. You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
“I was so scared,” he whispers. “They said you weren’t coming.”
“I’m here. I’m always coming for you.”
He presses his face into my shoulder and trembles. I wish I could take the blindfold off, but I won’t waste time struggling with knots. Not when what he needs most is my voice.
So I speak.
“Do you want to hear a story?”
Ben nods against my neck.
I settle into the floor, ignoring the chill, and begin.
“Once upon a time,”I whisper, “there was a boy with fire in his blood and claws for hands. But he wasn’t a monster. Not really. He just didn’t know how to be soft in a world that taught him sharp things.”
Ben stills, listening.
“This boy… he grew up in the stars, surrounded by people who used fear like a tool. They told him love was weakness. That kindness was a liability. So he got very good at being hard.”
I pause, swallow the lump rising in my throat.
“But deep down… he wanted to be something else. He just didn’t know how.”
Ben’s breathing evens. My voice steadies.
