TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains depictions of physical branding, blood, and intense pain that may be distressing to some readers.
THIRD PERSON'S POINT OF VIEW
Aello let out a heavy sigh as she sank into the small room off the kitchen, her mind worn thinner than her body. She wasn't stupid-she understood the maids' cruel intent even as she played dumb. Days of their taunts and blows had worn at her, but she held back every urge to fight back. Her tribe's safety came first.
It had been a day since Anastasia forced mud down her throat. Aello had swallowed half before Edna rushed in to stop them; without that intervention, she wasn't sure how long her composure would have held. Now a sharp cramp twisted in her stomach-surely from the dirt she'd ingested.
