Verona and Liera finally burst into the clearing, their faces flushed from running. Verona's heart nearly stopped when she saw Brielle whimpering in fear, her eyes darting toward Verona in a silent plea for help.
"Lady Verona..." Brielle whispered, her voice cracking.
"Easy, just stay easy," Zachren said, his voice unusually low and steady. The playful knight was gone, in his place was a man desperately trying to calculate how to move without causing a tragedy. "Miss, look at me. You don't want to do this. You're a thief, not a murderer. If you let her go now, we can talk."
"There is nothing to talk about!" The woman shrieked, her eyes wild.
Herschel stepped forward, his royal authority bleeding into his tone. "You've already committed a crime, but it's one that can be forgiven. If you draw blood now, you're throwing your life away. Don't make this more than it needs to be."
"My life was thrown away a long time ago!" She countered.
