"Where are they?" I frantically asked, my foot jerky in Hael's lap. "Are they somewhere safe? Is that where you're taking me?"
"Where I'm taking you, they will never have access to you again," he said with rigid finality, the blades in his voice emphasizing his distaste for my family.
I froze, trapped in a box of ice that solidified my tears at once.
"What do you mean by that, Hael?"
"I mean exactly what I said. Your family will never see you again. I'll ensure it for as long as I am alive."
I snatched my foot from his lap and let it slap against the water. Hael looked at me questioningly. As though he hadn't just threatened to keep me away from all whom I loved. "But you don't really mean that…do you?"
"I do."
Unease rolled in, but I addressed my friend as calmly as possible. "Hael, I…I want to be with my family. I want to stay with them."
