me, saw me as less than human. But they are less than human. They are creatures. They are dead now; I killed them. I burned them. I did this for us, Elethor. Don't you understand? For me and you."
He shook his head, looking at the blood that covered the tunnel. "Killing children?" His voice was barely a whisper. "Stars, Solina, how could you think this would bring us together?"
"Because I know that you still love me." She stared into his eyes. "Because I remember. I remember your kisses. Your whispers. I remember how we would come here, to this very tunnel, and speak of our dreams. We would speak about how cruel your father was to me, how one day we would fly away and be together in some faraway land." Her eyes shone. "That day has come, Elethor! I brought it here. I made it happen so our dream could come true." Her body shook. "Don't you see?" She clutched his shoulder. "We can be together now like we always wanted, like we knew would always happen. We'll fly to Tiranor, you a dragon and I a phoenix. I've built a palace where we will reign, king and queen of a desert land. It's that magical place we've always dreamed of, Elethor. It's what we've always wanted."
"I did not want this!" he shouted. His pulse pounded in his ears, and his head spun. "You will not cast this blood on me. You've gone mad in your southern land, with this… this Sun God who corrupted your mind." He swept his arms around him. "Dreams? Magical kingdoms? Love? You drenched the world in blood! You slaughtered children!"
"For you!" she shouted hoarsely. "For us!"
"Not for me!" His eyes burned. "I did not ask for this. You—"
A child tore free from the group of survivors behind Solina. He ran forward, skirted around Solina, and made toward the tunnel exit, maybe hoping to fly outside. Solina cut him down. Her blade flashed and sliced his leg, then swung down onto his shoulder, cleaving him. The child fell, gurgled, and died.
Elethor sucked in his breath. Head spinning and heart pounding, barely able to see through the sting of tears, he swung his sword at Solina.
She stood only three feet away, but it seemed the longest distance his sword had ever swung. It seemed the longest instant of his life. He was cutting the roots of that life, the old memories and meaning that had forever filled him, driven him, defined him. In that instant that lasted hours, he realized how much Solina had shaped him—he had grown up in her light, in her arms, almost a part of her. Without her, who was he?
A king, a voice whispered inside him. A betrothed to Lyana. A leader of dragons.
A whole man—no longer a boy in his brother's shadow, no longer a sculptor who shied away from the court his fathers had built. If he cut her down, he would cut himself free—free to become this man of his own right, to sit upon the throne with a whole heart.
He had always felt like half a soul; a night to Solina's day, starlight to her fire. Now he became one.
The instant passed. His sword reached her. Her blade rose and parried, and steel clanged.
She thrust her sabre at him, snarling, a wild animal, no longer human. He parried. He thrust again. And they danced.
It was a dance like they used to love—of passion and rage and hope. Her sword bit his shoulder, like her teeth would as they made love in this tunnel. He bled and thrust again, slamming his blade against her armor. Her sword flew at him, he parried, swung again.
He felt no rage. No more sadness. When he looked upon her, he no longer saw the old Solina—the girl of golden hair, of bright eyes, of secrets only he knew. He saw only the rot inside her, and he slammed at her until he cut her down. His blade shattered hers, and she fell. His sword slammed against her armor, denting it, and she gasped.
She knelt before him, head tossed back. Blood poured from a crack in her breastplate. Her mouth opened and closed.
"El," she whispered. "El…"
He stood above her, his sword raised. He could stab her now. He could slice her neck. He could—
"El," she whispered, "do you remember the wooden turtle?"
Blackness clutched him. He could not help but lower his head, close his eyes, and feel the breath leave him. She