MACE

The weight of it crushed me. I fell to my knees in the illusionary room. The self-loathing was thicker than the tar had been. They were right. I was a monster. Everything I touched turned to ash. I deserved to be here. Jaynayah deserved better than me.

Maybe... maybe she was better off with them. At least they wanted her power. I just wanted... what did I want?

To own her? To fix my own broken ego with her submission?

"No," I whispered to the floor.

YES, the voice insisted. LET GO, WOLF. ADMIT WHAT YOU ARE.

I thought about the golden thread. The feeling of her back in...