The stale air in my room felt heavier than usual, pressing down on me as Adrian's mocking voice sliced through the silence. "Have you learnt your lesson, my beloved Luna?" he purred, his lips curled into a crooked smile that sent a nervous tremor through me. My neck instinctively shrank, and I scooted away, burying my head between my knees. It was unlike him to look so calm, and a cold dread seeped into my bones. What was he up to?

His deep voice, laced with feigned mirth, sent an eerie shiver down my spine. "Are you afraid?" he asked, and I trembled from fright. He had just given me a brutal beating an hour ago, and the thought of another round made my ribs ache in protest. The wolfsbane he'd forced into my system burned from the inside out, making me feel like I was trapped in an active volcano.

I heard his footsteps advancing, heavy and deliberate, and I dared not look up. My heart beat a frantic rhythm against my ribs, a drum pounding a warning. Please, Goddess, if you truly exist, save me this one time. I promise to be good, to worship you every day. But even as the desperate prayer formed, I knew it was futile. When had she ever answered in the last five years? Was she even real?

Alas, Adrian reached me, grabbing a fistful of my hair and yanking my head back roughly. Pain jarred through me, from roots to toes, but I swallowed the cry. Crying out meant more punches to my stomach.