"Alicia, Lena. Stay here. Fortify this position."
I looked at my mother.
"Mother, don't leave this corner. Lena is better than any knight outside that barrier. She will keep you safe."
"And you?" Lyriana asked, her eyes widening.
I turned toward the exit. "I'm going out."
"No!"
She grabbed my arm, her grip surprisingly strong.
"Lucien, look at that madness! You cannot go out there! You are a student, not a soldier!"
"I am the only one who knows what's happening," I said firmly, trying to pry her hand away gently. "If I stay here, we all die. Someone has to stop the source."
"But—"
"Mother." I looked her in the eye. "Trust me."
She searched my face, her lips trembling. She looked for the boy she raised, but she found the man who had survived exile and dungeons.
She let out a shaky breath, her shoulders slumping.
"…You are as stubborn as your father," she whispered, frustration and fear warring in her tone.
She let go of my arm, but her gaze hardened.
