"Even now," she whispered, "if you were to repeat that same mistake again… I would punish you again."
Merisa's voice dropped to a chilling calm, her eyes never leaving Razeal's.
"And even if you did not stop… I would kill you by my own hand." Her tone began soft, almost tender, but sharpened with each word until it was as hard as steel. "Even if I had to live with the guilt for the rest of my life, I would do it. And I mean every word."
Her gaze did not waver. Calm, steady, unwavering a declaration not born of hatred but of principle.
For now, she ignored everything else. She ignored his severed arm clutched in his other hand, the blood dripping down his torn body, the deep carved letters etched into his chest, the countless scars that screamed of torment. She ignored even the pearl embedded in his forehead the very proof that he had ripped his bloodline essence free, a deed that should have killed him.
