she’d practically worn her knuckles raw in the days since. several of her brothers and sisters’ shields felt her wrath in spite of their own sorrow, and straw dummies stood around the courtyard barely hung on by their bindings after her sword made short work of them. and yet, there’d been no sign of rage quelling if only for a moment to give her some sense of peace knowing that kodlak, in the end, would not have wanted them to suffer on his behalf.
it had been uncharachteristic of her to aim some of that anger toward vilkas, who’d remained the picture of stoicism even as she shoved and punched, yelling at him to do something, say anything or fight back, only to be met with escalating frustration until she’d worn herself to her last breath, gripping the front of his armor as labored breaths softened while unable to meet his gaze.
with the last shuddering hint of an exhale, however, her throat seized, building toward a sob that she could not longer hold in. the first hint of tears since the attack had begun to spill freely, uncontrollable, and beckoning her to fall for her knees had vilkas not wrapped her in an embrace tight enough to keep her firmly planted in place.
her hold on him tightened, forehead pressed to his chest as the worst of days’ worth of contained sorrow spilled where she’d never let anyone else see.
❝ i’m sorry, ❞ she managed to choked out. ❝ i’m so sorry. ❞