Chapter 38

*Poppy*

I sat in the car and looked through the window as snow covered every branch with white fluff, weighing down on them like unwanted ballast. That's exactly how I felt. Although the words of the Chairman of the Council should make me happy, they weighed so heavily on my heart and shoulders that I couldn't cope.

"I achieved nothing. And I only had ten days left until the end of the year. I lost." I muttered under my breath as I felt tears running down my cheeks, although I didn't feel them flowing into my eyes at all.

"Don't talk nonsense, Poppy. You haven't lost. Or rather, you've gained something I didn't count on at all: time." Logan lectured me while driving, but I ignored him.

I've already seen my defeat. My daughter with no prospects for the future, Iris writhing in pain, and me drowning next to her, watching all this and being unable to do anything about it. The car suddenly jerked, and the wheels slipped on the snowy, slippery road, throwing us around. I squealed and grabb