Merin's mind raced with desperate calculations.
She could run. The leash that had controlled her was no longer active. The collar no longer suppressed her powers. Her aura was free. Her wind magic answered when she called it.
Freedom was just a sprint away.
But she knew the moment she turned her back and ran, that sword currently fighting the Duchess would pierce her heart.
If the Sword King said they would die, then they would die.
That had always been the way with Ravencourt's strongest. His word was absolute. His judgment was final.
The short-lived hope threw her into deeper despair than she'd felt even while collared.
She slumped against the ground, the dawn light tearing through the night's lingering darkness. She could do nothing but watch the chaos unfold in what had once been a beautiful backyard of the Saytan mansion.
Her eyes found Kael.
