I waited, watched, and prayed she would stay down. But she moved.
Hazel crawled from the shattered earth like a shadow pulling itself free. Each breath came out ragged and dark; she coughed and black blood spilled from her lips, staining the ground. Smoke rose from her clothes and skin in thin, angry tendrils. She looked broken, smaller than I'd ever seen her.
The emperor landed beside her immediately. He reached out as if to lift her, to steady her the way a brother would. For a beat, I thought maybe this madness would end, maybe he could take her away from this edge.
But her voice stopped him. Low at first, then steady as a blade.
"Stay out of this, Lucien." His hand froze in the air.
She didn't look at him. She didn't admit to weakness. Her eyes were fixed somewhere beyond us, on a memory only she could see.
Then she pushed herself up slowly. She stood shakily, legs trembling, smoke drifting from her like a sad cloud. Black blood marked her mouth and chin.
