"Stop!" Lyana shouted.
She saw a man lying on the ground, his face covered in blood, crying and pleading. Above him, a strange young man held a sword to the man's neck, ready to cut off his head.
But even after she screamed, the boy did not lower his sword.
she shouted again.
"I said stop!"
Rayan did not move. His sword was still on the man's neck.
After noticing that the boy had no intention of stopping,she raised her hand.
From her palm, a blinding light burst forth – not ordinary light, but a pure white, blinding light that filled the entire small room. It was as if the sun had suddenly entered the wooden shack.
Ryan cried out involuntarily. He closed his eyes quickly, but the light had already hit him. His head exploded with pain. His hands relaxed for a moment.
But he did not drop his sword.
After Lena saw that he had not dropped the sword , she moved like lightning.
In an instant, she was behind Rayan, her small knife in her hand. She did not want to kill him – only to immobilize him. She aimed for his shoulder, where it would not cause a fatal wound.
But Ryan was faster than she expected.
He raised his left hand without seeing. The ice shot out of his palm, forming a rod of solid, transparent ice in a fraction of a second.
The ice rod struck Lena's stomach forcefully, pushing her backward and causing her to hit the wooden wall.
Lena staggered backward, shocked. She looked at her trembling hand, then at Rayan.
"What..."
she whispered, but she did not finish her talk .beacuse ryan moved as soon as his vision returned.
He moved like a panther. Lyana did not see him coming. He was too fast.
In an instant, he was behind her. His left hand gripped her shoulder tightly. And his sword... his sword was now at her neck.
The cold blade touched Lyana's skin. She felt the cold iron on her neck. She stopped breathing for a moment.
The guards – Sorin and his men – raised their swords, but they could not move. Ryan was too close to the princess. Any wrong move might kill her.
Lena was still on the ground, staring at Ryan with eyes full of terror and anger. She shouted:
"Release her! Now!"
But Ryan did not look at her. He was looking at Lyana.
Ryan's voice was cold. Not just angry, but cold as his ice.
He said:
"Who are you to stop me?"
Lyana looked at him. She was afraid – her heart was pounding – but she did not show it. Her dark honey eyes met his.
She said in a low voice, despite the sword held to her neck:
"I came here to help that girl. Nothing more.and you don't need to kill this man because I will make him pay for his actions. I just want to take her to a safe place."
Ryan did not move.
Lyana continued:
"Ella doesn't need another death in front of her eyes. She needs to get out of here. And you... you don't have to become a killer to save her."
Ryan thought,
'A killer, huh...'
Then he remembered his conversation with his sister a month ago. Should he really leave the punishment of that man to the authorities?
But his thoughts were interrupted by the girl
"Put down your sword. Let me help her. That's all I ask."
Ryan looked at Ella.
She was still sitting on the ground, trembling, but she was looking at him. Her tearful eyes were looking at him – not with fear, but with something else. A plea. A silent plea for him not to do it.
Ryan saw her face. He saw the bruises. He saw the fear.
But he also saw that she was still alive.
Ryan's sword relaxed slightly. Then he moved it away from Lyana's neck.
A step back. Then another step.
He returned it to its sheath with a sharp sound.
And the anger that had erupted inside him had also disappeared.