Lungs burning, Princess Nya Gould of Frindom tore through the forest, her feet flying as her eyes oscillated from the tree branches in front of her that reached to grab her white blonde hair to the roots that threatened to trip her. The trees were thick, creating a canopy above her, making it easier to find shadows that would conceal her, once she settled on a hiding place. For now, the footsteps behind her thumped closeby, and she knew if she were to hesitate for even a moment, the one who chased her would be behind her.

Though she was small in stature, Nya was strong. By the time Rok had dragged her backstage, she’d managed to work one arm free, which she jabbed into his eye. The army officer growled in pain and let go to grasp his eye. Nya took the opportunity to jab her elbow into his gut and stomp on his foot. She whirled around, her arms ready to protect herself.“What are

The drums jarred Nya’s body with every step she took through the night, over uneven ground, down a path she didn’t want to be taking. Way off ahead of her, so far away, she could barely see him, soldiers led Gavin toward The Point. In a moment, her family would branch off and go a different direction, toward an overlook where they’d witness the sacrifice. Because her family was royalty, they were required to be present, by law of the land. Nya could’ve gotten away with staying back or even letting Rok lock her in the tower, but she’d already determined she needed to be there.

Sweat stung her eyes as Nya swung the sword around, just in time to block Rok’s steel blade. The reverberation shook all the way up her arm, but she didn’t have time to let the ache distract her as Rok was bringing the sword around again, this time from the other direction. The tip of the blade almost caught her underneath the chin, but she managed to jump back, raising her arms and shoulders to make herself smaller in the middle. The blade flew up into the air, missing her, but it wasn’t headed away from her for long. Rok was relentless, swiveling around in a full circle and bringing his sword along, ready to cut her in the middle. She was wearing a metal chest plat

The military barracks were a place most women wouldn’t dare go by themselves. Not that the soldiers of Frindom were particularly raunchy or dangerous, but a large group of men who were forced by their circumstances to spend most of their time with only other men without seeing many women were much more likely to participate in catcalling and other raucous behavior. As Nya walked into the large building behind the castle proper where the troops were housed, she didn’t give a second thought about being harassed. Not only was she the princess, someone they wouldn’t dare harass, she’d already kicked the asses of most of these soldiers. If she hadn’t trampled