And a cold realization coils through her stomach.
This isn’t escape.
They’re letting her go.
But she knows this is not mercy. It’s purpose.Usefulness.
Escape requires failure. This feels orchestrated. Because Maireth doesn’t want her dead. Dead, Elyssara is a problem solved. Alive, she is still a weapon to be wielded.
Elyssara stumbles through the final archway and into the night air beyond the palace.
Alive.
Because Maireth decided she should be.
The reprieve of the night air slams into her face like a blessing.
The courtyard beyond the palace yawns open beneath the Stars.
Hot wind.
Open sky.
Freedom.
Or, at least, not death.
Guards do not respond to her presence. They only watch as she half-collapses, half-limps across the courtyard.
The gates groan open, just enough for her to stumble through.
And the city walls rise ahead of her like a challenge.
Where will she go? How will she leave this fucking place?
Elyssara grips the amulet hanging from her neck, fist curled around it like a lifeline.
Seren.
I need you.
Come for me.
Please.
Azhareth.
They have Kael.
She chants the words over and over like an invocation.
But the amulet stays silent in her palm, as useless as prayer in the mouth of the dying. No acknowledgement. No response. Just…nothing.
Panic flares in her chest.
Where will she go?
The city’s walls are the only way out. She’s too far from the gate.
