BloodBound Crown
And still, she held her head high.
Grayson grabbed her chin, forcing her face toward the crowd, and Kael saw the full extent of the damage for the first time. A fading bruise purpled her left cheekbone. Her bottom lip was split, the wound fresh. But it was her expression that stopped his heart.
*Defiance.*
Pure, undiluted, suicidal defiance.
She wasn't broken, he realized with a shock that went through him like lightning. They'd tried—gods knew they'd tried—but whatever made her *her* was still intact, still burning behind those storm-grey eyes.