Heather's POV
----
I could feel the trap long before I saw it.
The way Mikaela's warriors shifted, tightening a circle around me, not to protect-but to corner. Their gazes weren't uncertain. They were loyal. But not to me.
To her.
Mikaela stepped forward, smugness oozing from every movement as she shifted back into her human form, blood-splattered and barely breathing hard. Her long hair was matted with sweat, her eyes gleaming with triumph.
"Did you really think you belonged here, Heather?" she sneered, circling me. "That Darrian would choose a broken thing like you over me?"
I said nothing. My fingers clenched tighter around the hilt of my blade.
"You fooled everyone for a while," she continued, tilting her head. "But I see what you are. Weak. Soft. Useless in war or peace. You
