I enjoyed the fast pace and present tense that this story was written in, it leant itself well to the rapid tone of battle and flight. The character of Laurel and her familiar Wisp were also quite enjoyable. 

I do feel like this could do with a bit of a additional draft here and there just to help the flow a little bit, and I do confess that I do not openly see the connection to the theme. So maybe a tad of clarification on that would work? 

That point aside, I enjoyed it quite a bit!

Like the story, like the character especially.  Most stories are written in the past tense, so it's unusual to see one written in the present. 

I enjoyed this story, and really liked the twist of her being the last sacrifice and the spear appearing on the tree.

but it was a little hard to follow and tell who was doing what.