I stand eye to eye with him and am overwhelmed with the sudden sensations of loneliness and sorrow and anger. They taste bitter on my tongue, and I peer at the Yellow Lord with greater understanding. He’s been chained down here for centuries. My measly eight years in Kallias’s cage don’t even compare. 370 “One person’s pain does not negate another’s,” says the Yellow Lord quietly, reading my thoughts. “I have been down here longer, but that doesn’t make your experience meaningless. You have been hurt. Deeply. Haven’t you?” Another wave of loneliness hits me, and I gasp under the weight of it.
