Silver Moraine toshin

suliya’s lips pull taut, jaw clenching.

i would have rather drowned.

there is no hesitation, no waver in her voice—only steel and salt.

it would have been honorable that way.

her gaze hardens, eyes like shards of ice. she thinks of the waves, the endless churn. the roar that could have taken her. the cold embrace of the deep. a warrior’s death.

better than fleeing. better than living with the shame of it.

she exhales sharply through her nose, casting a glance toward the carcass.

but i ran. the words are bitter, as if she is spitting them out alongside bile. i ran, because i was told to.

a pause.

by my mother.