*Briella*
I was still staring up at Malphas with horror. Even though his large hand was cold, it felt like it was burning my skin. But I couldn’t step away. It felt like I had full control of my body this time, but I was too paralyzed with shock.
Malphas stared down at me with amusement. “Nothing to say to me, my dear?” he asked in a deep, gravelly voice. He tsked, shaking his head as if disappointed. “What a shame since we are essentially family.”
My breathing hitched, and a spark of anger pushed through the shock as the gravity of my situation started to settle. This man—if I could even call Malphas a man—wasn’t just a scary character in the stories my mom told us. That was all he seemed to be as a child since we all thought him dead.
