Chapter73

'Leaving them is the right choice,' she told herself, trying to force the logic through the panic. 'If I run, they can focus on surviving instead of trying to protect me.'
But then her eyes flicked past Gazel's shoulder, catching the sight of the young knight on the far left whose hands were shaking so badly his shield kept rattling against his armor.
'But these are my people,' she thought, her fingers tightening on the carriage door. 'If I run now, wouldn't I just be a coward? Using my people as meat shields?'
Gazel didn't wait for her to answer, he was already turning back to the formation, "knights, on my mark, we create an opening for the carriage to break through!"
The monster watched them with that same amused grin, its tail twitching lazily behind it while the ground continued to crack and shift around its feet.
"Run all you want," it said, its voice dripping with casual malice. "It won't change the outcome."
Didi felt something cold settle in her chest, pushing past the panic and the shaking in her hands.
'No,' she thought, 'this is not right.' She looked at the young knight with the rattling shield, at every single person in that formation who was about to throw their lives away so she could ride away with her tail between her legs. 'I may be a princess, but I am not hiding behind my people while they die for me.'
She pulled her wrist free from Gazel's grip and stepped out from behind the carriage.
"Your Highness—"
Mana flared around her body in a sharp burst, frost spreading across the ground from her boots while the air temperature dropped fast, turning breath to white clouds. Three crystal Shards rose around her arms in a slow orbit, each one catching the light and throwing it back in fractured blue.
Gazel turned around fast, his eyes locking onto the princess in confusion. "What are you doing, you need to—"
"I am taking command now," she said, her voice carrying no room for argument. "You will follow my orders, Gazel, and you will stop treating me like a little puppy."