(Muiyan Faye's POV, A few seconds ago)
As Faye watched Jishan draw his blade, her heart lurched into her throat, a silent scream lodging behind clenched teeth as her eyes fixated on the glint of metal that hovered just above Leo's neck.
Her fists slammed the golden barrier harder in one final desperate effort born from instinct rather than logic, because logic had long since told her this wall could not be broken by anything she had.
Not by her alone, at least—
And yet, she still tried.
Still carved her blade into the same groove she'd carved a dozen times before, as if persistence might defy the enchantment where strength could not.
But it was too late.
The blade was drawn. The angle had shifted. Jishan was ready to finish it.
And she could do nothing but watch as the dragon she swore to protect was about to be executed.
However then— Leo moved.
A subtle shift of the wrist. A tightening of the shoulders. A strange closeness to Jishan's thigh that seemed deliberate.
