“You saved me,” Rune breathed, kissing her knuckles. “I should have died in the arena, all those weeks ago.” “It was selfishness,” she protested, the words muffled by her tears. “I don’t believe it was,” he said. His gaze caught hers, his eyes clear even in the face of death. “You’re afraid of your compassion. It never fit within the bounds of what your father expected, what you learned. I think your mothers would have saved me, too.” He smiled. “And I am honored to die as your weapon.”
