Chapter 83

• I didn’t have a plan, not really. There was no safe place for me here, not anymore. Everything I had known—every shred of trust, every piece of hope—had shattered when my father revealed the truth. He didn’t want me. I wasn’t even his daughter. How could I stay in this kingdom? How could I stay here with those who had betrayed me?
• I needed to leave, needed to escape. I had no idea where I’d go, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t stay. Not in this place, not with these people.
• I moved through the woods silently, keeping my head low, avoiding the main roads. I couldn’t afford to be seen. The closer I got to the border, the more my heart clenched. Was I really leaving everything behind? Was I truly abandoning the life I had known?