Kapitel 95: Burning bright

But Ginevra wasn't quick enough. No one was—not Princess, and not Cael, who hurried to her help. With the Starspawn's speed, he only needed a second to reach her and plunge his steel into her heart.

It was a second of a living nightmare. It was even worse than to look into the face of his own death—for his own death would not leave him to pick up the pieces. Cael watched and wished he could wake up.

Was that true inevitability? Was Ginevra doomed to an ending like this from the moment she was born? Did Cael's effort only hastened her demise?

If Cael was still manaless, he would likely never meet Ginevra at all. Surely never defeat her, never earn her trust and her respect. Never bring her to fight against his father—and never make her a victim of the Starspawn.

Instead, a Starspawn—this one or another—would kill her regardless, for their kind's plans and schemes.