Editing my next few rounds of chapters to post and I had to take an emotional pause after this part. Nina has escaped!!
Here’s an excerpt:
“The enforcer hesitated with a foggy exhale. Then they vanished into the forest.
Her body begged for release, but her mind wouldn’t allow such complacency. Freedom was a trick. A lie she had never been allowed to believe. Even when the rain was the only sound left, when her limbs shook, Nina didn’t move.
But finally—finally—when she let the breath go, it came out as a shaky, quiet sob.”