~LENORA'S POV
"I don't want to go back there. I don't want to work as a maid anymore."
My grip on his shirt tightened slightly without me noticing.
"It's... it's torture," I added, my throat tightening as the words started to spill faster. "They don't care, they just— they just touch you like you're nothing, and I can't do it again."
Zephyr moved slightly, his attention focused on me.
"You won't work as a maid, Dove," he said, his voice leaving no space for argument.
I looked up at him, searching his face like I could find something that would make it make sense.
Before I could say anything else, he spoke again.
"Silas is dead."
The words didn't land the way I expected them to. They just... stayed there.
My mind caught on them slowly.
"Dead?" I repeated, like I hadn't heard him properly. I blinked once, then again. "How did he die?"
