I couldn't help it. A laugh slipped out, sharp and tired.
"Who in their right mind loves someone so much that they'd peel their skin, break their bones, and reshape them into a statue?" My voice shook at the end, like my body couldn't decide if it wanted to cry or fight.
Yael didn't laugh back. He just looked at me, calm in a way that made my stomach twist.
"I know you won't believe me," he said, steady as stone, "but I've known you for a long time. I've seen your work. All of it. Since the orphanage."
The orphanage.
Something in my head clicked so hard it felt like pain.
It wasn't our first meeting at school.
He'd been there before one of those students who came in groups, all wearing the same uniform, all smiling like they were doing something kind for a day.
I hadn't noticed him. Not really.
I was older. Seven or eight years older, at least.
