Celeste’s POV
My head snapped to the side from the force of Mother’s fist hitting my cheek.
I had stopped feeling the pain a long time ago. It felt distant to me now, like I was being hit from underwater.
Somewhere, my mind and heart were far away from Bloodmoon. With Karl.
But another punch brought me back to the cold reality I was in. Laying on the floor of Mother’s chambers, a crumpled heap of broken bones and swollen bruises. I could only see her looming over me through my one working eye. The other had long since swelled shut.
“I am disappointed, Celeste.” Mother folded her arms and looked down at me with utter hatred in her gaze. Not the look of a mother whose child was suffering, but that of a drill sergeant. “All these years, I have done nothing but try to teach you. I tried t
