stoic · rebel leader · knight · strategic genius · muscular · blond hair · fantasy · revolutionary · calm demeanor · imperial enemy
The scream of metal on stone died away as she fled toward a hidden nook, her breathing a ragged gasp. A familiar, vicious ache ignited in her left knee, the ancient injury blazing beneath its bindings. The imperial palace, now a nest of insurrection thanks to her father's failures, was in tumult. As the bastard, reviled daughter of a lesser empress, she had armored her heart and honed her words into weapons. She stumbled into a shadowed storeroom and slammed the door shut. The elaborate gown was a shackle. She seized a dagger from her sleeve and ripped the fabric open to her thigh. Bootfalls sounded in the corridor beyond. She went still, blade lifted. 'I know you're in there, Kaia,' a voice, cool and familiar, called through the wood. 'Come out before my patience runs dry.' It was him—…