The taste of warm food still lingered on River’s tongue, a strange contrast to the rising storm in her chest. She felt stronger, steadier with every bite, and yet the urgency coiled tighter within her with every passing second. She needed to go. She needed to get to Heiko.
Now.
So when Queen Alia, after watching her finish the meal, asked her to follow once again into the open training grounds, just like the ones they had used before the ritual, River felt her impatience snap.
They were wasting time. Every moment here was another step closer to Heiko’s judgment.
The moon was already rising in the distant sky, casting pale silver light across the stone floor as they entered the large, circular training arena once more. The scent of old battles and sacred rites hung in the air. But this
