bChapter /bb176 /b

    bra’s /bbPOV /b

    b“/bbDoomed/bb? /bbNo/b… no! King Lance is still alive. I need you to help me move him to safety!” The voice crackled with bdesperation/b.

    I recognized that voice immediately.

    It was her–Zara, the woman who had gone undercover with Lance at the Cragfen Fortress. The same woman who had once byed /bbthe /bbpart /bof Lance’s wife.

    I could almost hear Mi’s irritated click of the tongue. She was getting impatient.

    “Zara,” Mi hissed, “You really think I care about your king?” iThe /i

    was no humor in her voice, just venom. “I don’t give a damn babout /bbhim /b

    anymore.”

    Zara stammered, “But… you said you loved him! You swore you loved him!”

    “I lied, okay?” Mi’s voice was icy, harsh. “The only thing I ever liked about him was his power. Now he has nothing. No kingdom. No power. He’s nothing to me.”

    Zara’s voice broke. “How can you say that? How can you just turn

    your back on him?”

    Mi snarled, “Stop harassing me with that old story. You should’ve seen your king when he didn’t even care enough about my daughter bto /bthrow her a decent wedding!”

    The words were spat with such venom that they made my blood run cold.

    “Forget your damn king,” Ruvan joined in. “He’s not worth it.”

    Zara’s eyes zed with fury. “You don’t get to decide that!”

    I barely caught the words, but there was no mistaking the anger behind them. That fight between them was going nowhere. Still, I couldn’t just stand there and watch.

    “Zara knows where Lance is,” I whispered to Thorne.

    He nodded, his expression dark. “Then let’s go get her.”

    We took off in pursuit of her, charging up the stairs with relentless speed.

    When we reached the top, the scene that awaited us was chaos. Zara had Mi by the hair, mming her head against the wall. Mi screamed, her voice raw.

    And then I heard it–Co and Ruvan, trying to pull Zara off.

    But all of us froze when we heard the footsteps

    The tension in the air thickened, the heaviness of the moment hanging on every breath.

    “Shit!” Mi screamed, breaking free from Zara’s grip. She shoved her aside and bolted for bthe /bdoor.

    Zara didn’t even hesitate. She ran after her.

    But she didn’t get far before Thorne tackled her to the ground.

    b1/4 /b

    bHis /bbhands /bbgripped /bbher /bbcor/bb, /bbhis /bbvoice /bba /blow growl. “Where bis /bLanceb?/bb” /b

    bZara /bbspat /bbin /bbhis /bbface/b. “You’re wasting your time. I won’t betray him.”

    bThorne’s /bjaw clenched. “You’ll talk, Zara. Whether you want to or not.”

    I could see it in her eyes. She was stubborn, and this was goin

    take a while.

    Meanwhile, Mi and her parents were getting away. My pulse quickened, my chest tightening

    I had promised myself that I’d finish this when I had the chance.

    “I’ll handle Mi. You deal with Zara,” I told Thorne, my voice sharp with determination.

    He nodded, but he wasn’t about to let me do this alone. Still, there

    I stormed across the room, throwing open the door. The gust of wind that

    o waste,

    I was standing on the top floor of the tower, facing a 30–foot–long drawbridge

    other side.

    Below me, the river rushed past, its current wild and unforgiving.

    e was immediate–sharp, biting, and cold.

    The only thing connecting the tower to the mountain bon /bbthe /b

    The drawbridge swayed dangerously in the wind. Snow began to fall, dusting the bridge, making it slick and treacherous.

    I could barely make out Mi on the other side of the bridge. She had made it to the other end, shouting at her parents to hurry up.

    The two of them were struggling, inching forward with every step, their hands gripping the bridge’s cord for support.

    “Come on!” Mi yelled, her voice full of urgency. “Move faster!”

    “Not with this wind and snow!” Ruvan snapped. “We can’t keep up with you!”

    Mi’s impatience was palpable. She red back at me, her eyes narrowing. “You won’t stop me.”

    I stepped onto the bridge, my gaze locked on hers, my heart hammering in my chest.

    Mi’s face drained of color. “ra… she’sing.”

    Her voice was a low rasp, fear creeping in as she realized how close I was.

    I could see her parents now–Ruvan and Co, their movements frantic, desperate.

    The wind howled, making it impossible for them to move faster. I could hear them bcry /bout in horror as they struggled to keep their bnced.

    But Mi, she wasn’t about to wait for them.

    Her fingers fumbled as she drew a dagger from/her side. Panic shed in her eyes.

    “What the hell are you doing?!” Ruvan shouted. “You’re going to kill us!”

    Mi didn’t answer him. She simply continued cutting the cords that bound the bridge.

    “Sorry, Mom. Sorry, Dad,” she muttered to herself, her voice trembling.

    Her hands moved faster, slicing through the thick rope.

    Mib, /bbstop/bb!/b” bCo /bbscreamed/b.

    bBut /bbit /bbwas /bbtoo /bbte/bb. /b

    bThe /bbcord /bbsnapped /bwith a sickening crack, and the bridge began to copse.

    Screams filled the air, but they were swallowed by the howl of the wind and the roar of the blizzard.

    In one smooth motion, Mi turned her back on her parents and disappeared into the darkness, leaving nothing but the sound bof /bbtheir /b

    screams.

    I was only a few steps from the bridge when it copsed. The ground beneath me trembled, and the air was thick with the freezing mist from the river below.

    I froze, eyes wide as I looked down at the chaos below. But to my surprise, Co and Ruvan weren’t in the water.

    They were still hanging from the bridge’s remains, clinging desperately to the rope.

    “ra…” Ruvan gasped, his voice weak, strained. “Please… help us…”

    A cold smile tugged at the corner of my lips. “You don’t deserve help. You never did.”

    Even when I lived with them, they never saw me as family. I was nothing more than a servant.

    “Pull us up!” Co cried, her voice breaking with fear. “We’re sorry! Please… we need you, ra!”

    I didn’t even flinch. The only thing I felt was the cold weight of indifference.

    Before I could respond, footsteps echoed behind me. Kimberly.

    She came through the door, her face etched with concern. “What’s going on here, ra?”

    I didn’t look at her. I handed her a de.

    “I think it’s time for you to decide,” I whispered.

    Kimberly’s eyes widened as she looked down at the hanging couple. Her face twisted in shock.

    “Let them live or let them die,” I murmured. “It’s your call.”

    Kimberly’s hands trembled around the de. She looked up at me, her eyes full of uncertainty.

    And then she removed her mask.

    “Do you recognize this face?” she cried, her voice rising in anger.

    Ruvan’s face turned to stone, and his eyes widened. “Who the hell are you?” he demanded.

    Kimberly’sugh was bitter, almost cruel.

    “Well, well… I used to be Kimberly Diaz. But you abandoned me on the day I was born.”

    Her words hung in the air, a promise of vengeance.

    “I bet you never thought I’d survive,” Kimberly said, her gaze cold as ice.

    bChapter /bb176 /b

    bRuvan /bband /bbCo /bbtrembled/bb. /bThey were beginning to understand the gravity bof /btheir bmistake/b.

    b“/bbWe’re /b

    sorryb,/b” Co

    sobbed, her voice

    cracking. “We

    never meant

    to… to

    hurt

    you.”

    Kimberly raised the de. “No. You’re not sorry. You’re just afraid.”

    Without another word, she swung the de, severing thest cord holding the bridge.

    And

    Iwith

    that, the

    world went silent.

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