The cliffs loomed over Ava like a beast of stone, jagged and unyielding. The storm had waned, but the night remained heavy, pressing down on her like the weight of the past she could never escape. The shadowy figure had been defeated, their body crumpled on the ground, but the battle wasn't over. It never really would be. Not for Ava.
The betrayer, bloodied but standing, watched her with eyes that were both a refuge and a reminder of everything she had lost. His breath came in sharp bursts, each one a mark of the price they had both paid to be here, at this crossroads.
Ava's hand trembled as she wiped the blood from her knife, her knuckles white from the effort to keep it steady. Every fiber of her being screamed for rest, for relief, but there was none to be found. Not here. Not now.
