Azriel’s eyes widened in disbelief. "And the newborn… Is alive?"
Markus looked at him, the conflict plain in his eyes. "Yes, she’s alive. It’s a baby girl. Right now, I’m keeping her hidden, isolated in a secure room. But Azriel, I have no idea what to do with her."
A long, heavy silence settled between them as Azriel processed what Markus was saying. The implications of it. The horror and yet... the fragile hope that came with the existence of this child.
"We swore," Azriel finally said, his voice filled with the weight of their oath, "that we would kill every single one of them. To avoid any future trouble. We knew what keeping even one of them alive could mean for our people, for all the species. You know this. We can't allow history to repeat itself."
Markus’s shoulders sagged as
