The moment the pressure reached its peak, something inside the balance of power snapped.
It did not happen all at once.
At first, the princesses only trembled where they knelt, their bodies shaking under the invisible force pressing down on them. Their armor creaked faintly as if it were being squeezed by unseen hands. Their breathing grew uneven, shallow and strained, each breath harder to take than the last.
Then—
Aurelia's head jerked forward.
A harsh cough tore from her throat.
"Kh—!"
A dark splash struck the ground.
Blood.
It spread across the cracked earth beneath her, thick and heavy, the color standing out against the pale dust of the battlefield.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then Selene coughed next.
Her body bent forward, her hand pressing against her mouth, but it did nothing to stop the blood that forced its way out. It slipped between her fingers and dripped down onto the ground in uneven drops.
Lyra followed.
Then Valeria.
Then Mariel.
