"Brother Luther!"
"Her people had held me down and forcefully sliced off skin from my body…"
"Didn’t you say you would guard me forever? It hurts so much…"
Luther’s breath clearly paused.
He stared at the wrapped spot on her chest, then at the smooth surface on mine, his throat bobbing hard.
His tone sank, heavy and cold. "Vera, how did you turn into this?"
"So… heartless?"
Faye quietly cried in his embrace, yet the look she threw at me was bold, proud.
"She’s so young, leaving such a large wound on her body, how will she manage later?"
His voice grew harsher. "Do you need to break her before you feel satisfied?"
Watching him shield Faye like that, I suddenly recalled the eighteen-year-old Luther.
Back then, he was careful; even when he held me, he never dared squeeze his arms tight.
Yet he made his first promise, saying he would guard me for all his life.
I lightly ran my hand across the fresh skin on my chest, pressing down the sharp ache in my heart.
"And have you ever wondered what I should do, walking around with lines like that carved on me?"
"She inked that on my body. I take some of her skin. It’s equal."
Luther parted his lips, yet nothing came out. He fell quiet.