Aurora had never felt more humiliated. Her arms still tingled from where the guards had grabbed her, and her wrist throbbed from where the needle had gone in.

She paced the long hallway outside the hospital wing, walking up and down like a restless animal trapped in a too-small cage. No one stopped her. No one even spoke to her.

Victor had waited, standing still like a statue, as though expecting Rowan to order her arrest. But Rowan hadn’t said anything. Not one word. So after a long pause, Victor had clenched his jaw and told the guards to remove her from the room. Not arrest her. Just... kick her...