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Mayra was stunned. Her lips were pressed into a thin line, so so hard it hurt. She couldn’t walk away. Even if she tried. She couldn’t change.

He had said he would be there for her. There – for <i>her</i>. Mayra. The Bloody Mink. Murphy’s Hound. The Little Monster. She squeezed her eyes shut. There was no way he would understand. No way.

Even though he had just poured his heart out to her – she couldn’t find it in herself to care. That was how it was with her. She was unable to empathise, feel anything towards others. But she could feel a sense of – she recognised the pain in his voice. The dead look in his eyes. The sadness of his turned down mouth. The desolation in his posture.

He was similar to her in almost every way. They were so alike. And yet-

She took a shallow breath, lifted her chin and stared above his head. “I – born like this,” she pointed at her scarred face, shrugging. “I think. But – people scared. They see – a creature. Not a girl. So – I steal. Lie. Hurt. Fight.”

She held out her palm, psionic energy swimming above it. “Hunt. And – torture. Because – that is all I can do.”

She met the boy’s gaze – Alessio was his name. “I – cannot – change.”

Alessio just gazed at her silently. Letting her speak.

Nothingness filled her head. Her heart beat against her chest, speeding up. “There is – a man,” she whispered into the silence. <i>No! </i>her inner voice screamed. <i>What are you doing? Shut up shut up shut up-</i>

“A bad man. Lots of money. Kills. Steals. He – has power. Great power. And I – his dog. I do dirty work – and – and-“

<i>Shut up shut up shut up Mayra shut up don’t say it be quiet say nothing-</i>

She choked then, her lungs squeezing together as if a belt had been wrapped around it. Why – why was she telling them this? Why was she shaking? Why was she letting her guard down? She wanted to sink into the ground and let it suffocate her.

The image of him manifested in her vision. His reptilian smile, his glinting blue eyes and perfect blonde hair. Her gut churned and her nails bit into her arms. Even now she couldn’t escape him. Even now-

She let out a soft sound as something in her caved in. Her mouth moved of its own accord, letting out the truth. “I – his toy. He does – what he wants – with me.”

She met Alessio’s gaze slowly, watching as the truth of the hell that was her life dawned on him.

Mayra squeezed her arms hard, but didn’t flinch. She couldn’t even cry anymore. She had no hope. No joy. No sense of value in life.