“It cannot be helped.” He closed his eyes again. “I cannot do anything for them. I cannot live with their helpless love. I will find aid somewhere—a cure, perhaps, or at least something to dull this cursed, unending pain and the madness of my dreams. One day I will return and make things right for them—for my family and all the folk I have disappointed.” That sounded more like a fading dream than something he truly believed, and my heart ached for him. I ached for myself, too, but that was not something I could afford to think about until we had left Asu’a far behind.
