Skirata looked as if he was going to weep. The mood around the table stood balanced—as it would for weeks, months, and maybe even years to come—on a knife-edge between crying and laughing. “Kal, you’ll go over it in your head a thousand times,” Ny said. She seemed to be able to read Skirata as if she’d known him all her life. “Over and over. I’ve done it. But remember that Etain only died once, and then it was over.” On first take, it sounded harsh, if brutally true; but Jusik recognized the wisdom and comfort in that observation, and actually felt some beginnings of peace. Nobody died as
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