Isabelle opened her eyes, staring groggily at the wooden ceiling above while trying to figure out where she was and what was going on. Her body felt stiff and bruised all over, and from what she could tell, her chest and arm were tightly bandaged.
She pushed herself up on the cot, rubbing her temples as the memories of that night flooded in. She remembered joining the military council and later Jaden visiting her room with the marriage papers; she remembered the enemy attacking the city and him leaving to fight on the front lines; she remembered the demons that had made their ways in the castle, swarming her, reaching for her before her body exploded with that light.
Her hand instinctively went to her forehead, touching the smooth skin, but the rune was gone. She had no idea how much th
