“Do not be afraid,” he said, brushing my hair from my face and staring into my eyes as if I was the sun and he was the plant needing my light. “Death is not the end.” My words from long ago drifted through my mind. “I do not fear death because I’m afraid of dying, Ery…” I had told him. “I fear it because it would take me from you.” More soldiers surrounded us. “Ery, you have to fight,” I said through harsh wheezes. “Leave me and go.” I was incapable of moving, but that did not mean he had to stay and meet the same fate. “No.” His green eyes held my gaze before he pulled me against his chest,
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