HER DAUGHTER'S REJECTED MATE
Lady Marrow (stepping forward): "Riven sits beside Vito in every council meeting. If he ordered this, the Council itself is now a weapon."
Blythe (rising, voice steely): "Then we break the blade."
Closing Beat
Blythe steps onto the shattered dais. The brazier glows beside her. She wipes blood from her forearm with a scrap of silk, eyes locked on the horizon.
Blythe (to herself): "They sent fire to burn me. I became it."
[Xavier joins her, his arm slipping around her waist.]
Xavier (low): "It's only just begun."
Above them, carved into the temple's highest arch, the Mark of the Umbra gleams faintly—moonlight kissing its edges. Below, soldiers gather the wounded. Crows circle the sky.
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