Chapter 1
AJ didn’t stop laughing.
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That was the part Bri couldn’t forget.
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Not the blade.
Not the blood.
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The laugh.
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Bright.
Careless.
Like none of it mattered.
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Until—
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It did.
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She saw it again.
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The shift.
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The moment where something real broke through something pretend.
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The way his expression changed—
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Not fear.
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Surprise.
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Like he hadn’t expected it to actually happen.
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Like none of them had.
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Bri inhaled sharply.
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The memory didn’t fade.
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It stayed.
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Sharp.
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Permanent.
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This didn’t reset.
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That thought came back the same way it always did.
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Uninvited.
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Unfinished.
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She clenched her jaw.
Forced herself to focus.
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The castle loomed in front of her.
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And it didn’t care.
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The castle was bigger up close.
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Bri had noticed it before, from a distance.
Heavy.
Important.
Unavoidable.
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But standing in front of it—
It felt like something else.
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Final.
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Stone walls stretched upward, solid and unyielding. Banners hung from high towers, shifting in the wind like they had something to say.
People moved constantly.
Guards.
Messengers.
Leaders.
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No one stood still here.
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“Don’t look like you’re about to run,” Kex said quietly beside her.
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“I’m not.”
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“You are a little,” Looty added gently.
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Bri frowned.
“I’m just looking.”
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“At an exit,” Kex said.
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“…I like knowing where those are.”
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“Healthy,” Kex replied. “Paranoid. But healthy.”
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Bri didn’t argue.
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Pablo stood ahead of them, speaking briefly with a guard.
He looked… the same.
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Which was strange.
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Because everything else had changed.
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“Come on,” he said, turning back to them. “Try to keep up. I’d hate to lose you in a hallway.”
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“You wouldn’t lose us,” Kex said.
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Pablo smiled faintly.
“I’m old. It happens.”
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Bri glanced at him.
He didn’t look worried when he said it.
Just… certain.
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That didn’t make it better.
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⸻
The inside of the castle was louder than Bri expected.
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Voices layered over voices.
Footsteps echoed.
Orders passed from one person to another without stopping.
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It felt like—
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A system.
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Too many moving parts.
Too many directions.
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Her grip tightened slightly on her bow.
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“Relax,” Kex muttered.
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“I am relaxed.”
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“You look like you’re about to shoot a wall.”
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“That wall started it.”
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Kex snorted.
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Looty smiled softly.
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Bri didn’t.
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They were led into a large chamber.
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High ceilings.
Long tables.
Too many people.
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And at the center—
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Grace.
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Bri recognized her immediately.
Not because she had seen her before.
But because—
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Everyone else moved around her.
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Not away.
Not toward.
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Around.
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Like she was something the room had been built to hold.
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Beside her stood Lady Sansa.
Calm.
Composed.
Unshaken.
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Bri’s chest tightened slightly.
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They had fought her.
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Not long ago.
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Now—
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She stood beside her.
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Like that meant nothing.
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“Stay close,” Pablo said quietly.
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Bri nodded.
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She wasn’t sure where else she would go.
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“Quiet.”
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Grace didn’t raise her voice.
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She didn’t need to.
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The room stilled.
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Completely.
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Bri felt it in her chest.
That kind of control.
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Different from Trod.
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But not weaker.
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“Today,” Grace said, “we begin something new.”
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Her voice was steady.
Measured.
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Certain.
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“We rebuild what was divided. We strengthen what was fragile. And we move forward—together.”
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Bri shifted slightly.
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Together.
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That word again.
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Names were called.
Roles assigned.
Positions given.
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Bri tried to follow.
She didn’t.
Not all of it.
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Too many pieces.
Too many people.
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Then—
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“Pablo.”
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Bri looked up.
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Pablo stepped forward.
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Steady.
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Unhurried.
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Like he had done this before.
Or something like it.
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“Minister of Internal Affairs,” Grace said.
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A small murmur moved through the room.
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Bri blinked.
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Minister.
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That sounded—
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Big.
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Pablo inclined his head slightly.
“Understood.”
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Simple.
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Like it was just another task.
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Sansa glanced at him.
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And smiled.
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Not wide.
Not dramatic.
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Just—
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Respect.
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Pablo returned it.
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Bri looked away.
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That didn’t sit right.
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“They were trying to kill each other a week ago,” she muttered.
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“That’s how diplomacy works,” Kex said.
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“That’s how confusion works.”
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“Same thing, usually.”
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Bri frowned.
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She didn’t like that answer.
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Another name.
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Another shift.
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“Trod.”
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The air changed.
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Not loudly.
Not obviously.
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But Bri felt it.
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He stepped forward.
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Calm.
Controlled.
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Like always.
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“Marshall,” Grace said.
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The word landed heavier than the others.
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Trod didn’t react.
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Not really.
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Just a small nod.
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Like it meant—
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Nothing.
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Bri watched him carefully.
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He didn’t look proud.
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He didn’t look satisfied.
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If anything—
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He looked…
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Bored.
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Or—
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Uncomfortable.
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The same way she felt.
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That didn’t make sense.
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She didn’t like that either.
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The rest blurred.
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More names.
More roles.
More structure.
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Too much.
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When it finally ended, the room broke back into motion.
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People talking.
Moving.
Planning.
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Like nothing had changed.
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Like everything had.
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Pablo returned to them.
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Kex crossed their arms.
“Well,” they said. “You’re important now.”
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“I was always important,” Pablo replied.
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“Sure. But now it’s official.”
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Pablo smiled faintly.
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Then looked at Bri.
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Longer than the others.
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Thoughtful.
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“There’s opportunity here,” he said.
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Bri didn’t answer immediately.
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“There’s structure,” he continued. “Stability. Growth.”
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A pause.
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“I see great things ahead for us.”
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Another pause.
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“For you.”
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Bri’s chest tightened.
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She didn’t like the way that sounded.
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Like expectation.
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Like direction.
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Like—
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Something she hadn’t chosen.
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“…We’re going back now?” she asked.
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Pablo nodded.
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“We return home.”
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Bri hesitated.
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“Home,” she repeated.
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Then—
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“…The new one?”
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Pablo raised an eyebrow slightly.
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“Of course.”
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Of course.
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Bri nodded slowly.
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That made sense.
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It should have.
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⸻
As they left the castle, Bri glanced back once.
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At the walls.
At the height.
At the people still moving inside it.
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At Grace.
At Sansa.
At Trod.
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All of them part of something—
⸻
Big.
⸻
Controlled.
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Unavoidable.
⸻
⸻
Navi brushed lightly against her leg.
⸻
Grounding.
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Real.
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Bri exhaled slowly.
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Then turned away.
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And followed the others.
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Because for now—
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That was still her choice.
