You are a masterful writer, so certainly this chapter development was planned a long time ago. We have seen quite a number of deaths so far, so one more shouldn't come as a surprise, but of course Mira is not just another Red Shirt.
The display of Shay's "power" or ability was quite interesting to see, but I was most intrigued by the way Hartley made a show of killing Mira right there and then and of hurting Shay by doing it. Hartley is a man who likes to display his powers and play with his preys so it isn't quite unexpected. Still, it feels like he was expecting something to happen from this, beyond Mira's death (and indeed something happened as this unleashed Shay's power once again). Anyway, this is probably a long-winded way of explaining why I still believe in a Mira-cle and can't wait for Chap. 12.