RAGNA POV...
After coming so close to death by their hands, fear was no longer something subtle or abstract to any of us; it clung to the inside of my chest like damp sand, because even with the Black Steel Knights escorting us, everyone knew the truth they never said aloud—that if things truly went wrong, we could be abandoned without hesitation so that they could preserve their own lives.
As long as the knights managed to keep the "best" of the children alive, their mission would still be considered a success.
Even if the rest of us were lost.
