>>Aelin
My blood ran cold.
They'd been looking for me? Me? Not any of the warriors. Not Draegon?
Me.
Terror clawed through me so fast it almost shattered my mind. I wanted to thrash but my body was locked in place, like prey in the mouth of a beast too large to fight.
I've felt helpless.
Tears pricked at my eyes, not from pain, but from the choking truth that I couldn't do anything. I had been nothing but a burden since the moment I was born.
Weak.
That's what I was.
That's what they'd all think.
But then—
No.
Something snapped in me.
It wasn't rage.
It wasn't even desperation.
It was… resolve.
A solid, burning line in my chest that said: I will not be taken. Not like this. I can do something about this!!
I tried to push my magic out. My vision started blurring from the pressure on my lungs. My head was spinning — but I focused. I focused.
Light.
