After Rejection, she crawled to my feet for forgiveness

Chapter 80

The safe house was a rock tomb, hidden deep below the tumbling waters of Valkoria. Its walls were wet and cold, their surfaces slimy with the damp and reflected the faint glow of a lone bulb suspended from a frayed wire. The air was heavy, heavy with the smell of the sea and the smell of damp earth. Shadows curled themselves over corners, shifting with every dance of the bulb, as if the safe house had a life, keeping secrets. The room was a haven of chaos, its metal table strewn with tools, old keys, and the master's book, its pages spread wide to illegible diagrams. Crates of supplies stood in marching lines against the walls, their contents—bandages, canned food, batteries—stuffed over the floor. A narrow bed took up the corner, its wooden frame creaking in protest at Bethany's weight, her own form a pale shape under a light coverlet.

Bethany did not move, her face pale as the cliffs themselves, her breathing shallow but steady. Her arm was bound, the cut cleaned but inflamed, its e