The young man’s low, gravelly voice echoed, his eyes devoid of emotion. His demeanor made the boy feel uneasy, yet he did not linger. He had always possessed a strange intuition that, at the very least, he would not suffer the same death as the others.
After a sudden crack of Apparition, the place fell into a deathly silence. No one knew the details of what followed that day, but that entire family had vanished without a trace.
Gloria pushed open the door and immediately spotted the little girl huddled in the corner, looking guarded and anxious. Claire had already changed her clothes. She remarked that the child was terribly thin and that her previous garments were tattered, ill-fitting, and hung loosely on her frame. Her body was covered in both fresh and old scars—some from beatings, others from curse-fire. She had carried the child to Polaris, where they applied a variety of potions to her wounds.
Chapter 149