••{NAYEESHA'S POV}••
A small group of traitors bolt toward the throne room doors, desperate to escape the chaos. Their panicked shouts echo against the stone walls, mixing with screams and the clash of blades.
They fling the doors open and try to run, but they collide with an invisible wall that shimmers and ripples like a wave, bending the light around it.
"And where do you all think you're going?" I shout, storming toward them. Sparks of magic burst to life along my arms, coiling like living fire. "The only way out is over my dead body!"
"Then so be it, witch!" One guard snarls then turns to the others. "Kill her!"
Three of them raise their swords and charge at me with unnatural speed. One reaches me first, swinging for my head. I duck under the blade just in time, feeling the wind from his strike whip past my cheek.
