Kara POV:

The carriage had barely lurched forward before Aden's patience completely snapped. I kept my eyes closed, hoarding what little strength I had. Every breath was a conscious effort to prepare for the fight ahead.

Suddenly, the carriage door flew open. Before I could even turn my head, Aden's polished boot shot out from inside the cabin, striking me brutally in the side.

A scream tore from my throat, raw and animalistic. The world tilted as I tumbled from the high driver's bench, landing hard in the freezing slush of snow and mud.

Pain, white-hot and blinding, exploded in my twisted ankle, radiating up through my already ruined leg. It was worse than any whipping, any fall in the mines. Black spots danced in my vision.

Aden's face appeared in the doorway above me, his expression a mask of furious indignation. "You think you can embarrass me? A member of the Powers family, degrading yourself to sit with the servants!"

I lay there, gasping for air, clutching my throbbing ankle. My silence only seemed to enrage him further.

"Stop playing the victim with that cold attitude!" he roared, his voice cutting through the icy wind. "You stole Corie's place! You enjoyed sixteen years of luxury and wealth that belonged to her! These three years of suffering are exactly what you deserve! You have no right to look so wronged, you ungrateful wretch!"

The mention of her name sent a flicker of something, a dark and bitter amusement, through the ice in my veins.

He sneered down at my broken form shivering in the mud. "Since you want to act like a slave and need to reflect on your status, you can walk back to Greyrock Keep yourself. And wipe that miserable look off your face before you upset the elders."

Aden's face twisted with absolute fury. He climbed into the carriage alone, slamming the door so hard the entire frame shook. "When we get back to Greyrock Keep," his voice carried through the thin wood, muffled but dripping with venom, "you will keep your mouth shut. Not a word of what happened here. Especially not to Corie."

He dropped the curtain violently. "Drive!" he barked at the terrified coachman.

The carriage pulled away, its wheels spraying a final, insulting wave of muddy ice over me.

I lay there, shaking. Not from the cold. From a rage so profound it felt like it could burn the snow around me.

I bit my lip until I tasted blood. Tears were for the weak. My tears had dried up long ago.

I tried to push myself up. My arms trembled, but it was my leg that failed me. It wouldn't take any weight. I collapsed back into the snow with a choked gasp.

The sun was setting. The wind was picking up, carrying flurries of fresh snow. I was alone. I could freeze to death out here.

Despair was a cold hand squeezing my heart. But a fiercer, hotter emotion pushed it back. Survival. I would not die here. Not before they paid.

I began to crawl. Dragging my useless leg through the snow, every inch a new wave of agony.

Then I heard it. Hoofbeats. Another carriage.

I froze, every muscle tensed. It was even more luxurious than Aden's. The crest on its door was a circling hawk. House Klein.

Derrick Klein.

The name was a needle sliding into my heart. My former fiancé. The man who had stood by and said nothing as I was condemned.

The carriage stopped beside me. The door opened.

He stepped out, a tall figure in a black cashmere coat. His deep blue eyes, framed by the falling snow, were as unreadable as ever.

His gaze fell on me, struggling in the mud. It lingered for a moment, his face a blank canvas.

I immediately looked down, trying to hide. I didn't want him, of all people, to see me like this. So pathetic. So broken.

His voice, low and steady, cut through the wind.

"Get in the carriage."

My body locked up. The same tone. The same command. The same casual arrogance.

I lifted my head, my eyes meeting his. I let him see the defiance there. The hatred.

Kara POV:

I stared at Derrick's outstretched hand. Clean, warm, with long, elegant fingers. A hand that had once held mine with such tenderness. The memory was a bitter poison.

I didn't move. My mind raced. Accept his help, and I'd be indebted. Refuse, and I might die in this snow.

"A slave like me couldn't possibly accept the kindness of Lord Klein," I said, my voice a raw rasp. I made sure to use his formal title.

Derrick's eyes narrowed slightly, but his expression didn't change. He wasn't surprised. He withdrew his hand.

"If you won't accept my help for yourself, then consider your grandmother," he said, his tone cool but pointed. "Matilda Powers has been worried sick about you."

Grandmother Matilda. One of the few people who had shown me genuine warmth and kindness three years ago. The thought of her agonizing over my fate in this freezing wasteland twisted my heart. I couldn't bear to cause her any more worry. It was the perfect excuse, one I couldn't refuse.

Survival first. Revenge later.

I tried to push myself up, to get to my feet on my own. But the pain in my leg was a sharp, vicious thing, and I fell back with a gasp.

A flicker of something-annoyance? concern? -crossed his face. Before I could protest, he bent down and swept me into his arms.

My body went rigid. The scent of him-cedar and cold steel-filled my senses, an unwelcome ghost from a past life. I wanted to fight, to claw my way out of his hold, but I was boneless with pain and exhaustion. I could only lean against his chest, hating my own weakness.

He carried me to his carriage as if I weighed nothing and gently placed me on the soft seat.

This carriage was warmer, larger. A small charcoal brazier glowed in the corner, chasing away the winter chill.

Derrick took off his heavy cashmere coat and draped it over me.

I flinched, my first instinct to push it away. But the warmth seeped into my frozen limbs, a comfort so profound it was its own kind of pain. I hated myself for craving it.

A memory, sharp and unwanted, pierced through the fog of pain. Corie, shivering delicately after a walk in the rain. Derrick, wrapping this very coat around her, his eyes soft with a concern he had never once shown me.

The bitterness was a physical thing, a shard of ice in my heart. His gentleness was a gift he gave freely to others, but it had been absent when I needed it most.

He sat across from me. "Back to Greyrock Keep," he told the driver.

His eyes were on me. "What happened to your leg?"

I closed my eyes, refusing to answer. I would not show him any vulnerability.

He didn't press. "I've sent for a physician. He will be waiting for you at the Keep."

A physician. I almost laughed. To assess my value, no doubt. To see if the merchandise was still usable.

The grand, dark towers of Greyrock Keep rose from the snow-swept landscape. Home. The word was a mockery. This was the beautiful cage where my life had been destroyed.

The carriage stopped. The door was pulled open.

Elna Powers, Aden, and Corie were waiting on the porch.

Their faces were a study in shock as they saw me, wrapped in Derrick's coat, emerging from his carriage. Elna's held a flicker of relief. Aden's, pure fury.

And Corie. The color drained from her beautiful face. She stared at me as if I were a ghost clawing its way out of the grave to drag her down.

Derrick stepped out first, then turned, offering me his hand.

In front of them all, I ignored it.

I grabbed the doorframe, hauling myself out. I dragged my shattered leg behind me, each step a testament to my will. I stood on the frozen ground of Greyrock Keep, my head held high. My eyes met theirs, one by one. A declaration.

I was back.