The Impossible Choice

Valerie’s POV

Malachi’s eyes glittered like shards of ice, cutting through me as if he had already tasted the torment he was about to draw out of me. He tilted his head, the cruel curve of his lips twisting into something almost bored. “I don’t have the whole day to waste on your tears,” he said, his voice low, sharp, carrying the weight of finality. His gaze swept the chained bodies before us, sl