This scene takes place after Meridia has sent Astrid on her way, trying to protect the young noblewoman from the treachery of her brother.
Meridia watched Astrid turn the corner and sagged, letting herself sink to the floor. She was shaking violently, pain searing through every inch of her body. It didn't take a healer to know that the wound she'd received from the demon was mortal. She'd done what she could to slow it, but she was going to die here.
She laid her head back against the stone wall and let out a bitter laugh. After everything they'd endured, every heartache they'd felt together...it was going to be Sylvia's family that killed her.
Meridia could hear Caleb's soldiers coming, as she'd known they would. From an escape perspective, letting the third soldier go had been foolish
