~Salvatore's POV
I saw her properly then, not in fragments, not through motion, but fully, like the world finally stopped shaking long enough for me to understand what had been done to her.
Her body was still sitting low against the wall, but it was not the same woman I had left behind in my mind. The way she held herself was different now, smaller in a way that did not feel natural, like something inside her had been forced to fold in on itself just to survive what had been happening around her.
My eyes dropped, and I saw it immediately.
Blood had stained against her legs, dark in places where it had dried and still fresh in others, and for a moment I felt something in my chest tighten so sharply that it was hard to breathe properly. I did not speak at first because words felt useless in a way I was not used to.
I moved closer instead.
"Elsie," I said, my voice lower than I intended.
