Elara swallowed hard against the sour surge of bile as she took in the enforcer's ruined form, his throat a ravaged ruin that had nearly severed his head from his shoulders. She met Seraphina's haunted gaze, seeing the raw anguish burning there even as her friend gave a shallow nod of grim affirmation.

There would be no going back from this. They were in too deep, had crossed too many lines in blood. The only path remaining was forward, no matter how dark the road ahead.

Elara snatched up her fallen blade, the reassuring weight of the hilt grounding her as she lurched back into the fray. Seraphina was at...