>>Aelin
Draegon spun around so fast it was as if lightning had struck him. He extended his arm around as a protective gesture towards me.
Ruoxy stood there, her body twisted in a grotesque yet eerily awful way, dark blood seeping from the gaping wound in her chest—but she was still smiling.
A slow, creeping, malicious smile.
Draegon's eyes flickered down to the heart in his hand, its flesh burnt and shriveled from his grip. Without hesitation, he crushed it completely, fingers tightening until the organ turned to nothing but dust. The remains slipped between his fingers and scattered into the wind.
But Ruoxy didn't flinch.
Didn't waver.
Didn't fall.
Draegon's breath hitched for the first time since the fight had started. I saw his chest rise and fall in one sharp inhale before his fingers released the remnants of the heart, letting the ashes drift away. His eyes locked onto Ruoxy's, his usual unwavering confidence now coated in something else. Something unnerved.
