Towers of Midnight (The Wheel of Time, #13)

by Robert Jordan

To have a duty was to have pride—just as to bear a burden was to gain strength.

The boy understood what was coming. Light help him, but he understood. And he’d sent another away in his place.

An open cavern, gaping like a mouth. Bloodstained rocks. Two dead men on the ground, surrounded by ranks and ranks of Trollocs, a pipe with smoke curling from it.

There, holding to his father, the Dragon Reborn began to weep.

“I’m sorry, Father,” he whispered. Min could barely hear. “I’m so sorry.” “It’s all right, son. It’s all right.” “I’ve done so much that is terrible.” “Nobody walks a difficult path without stumbling now and again. It didn’t break you when you fell. That’s the important part.”