“I’ve never left your side!” she raged. “I always believed in you and supported you. I saw the worst of you and didn’t flinch. And now, when we are on the edge of getting everything you worked for, you’re abandoning it for a girl who will destroy your life?” I shook my head, steadying my tone. “That’s the thing, Blythe. If I stay, Kawan will keep me as his dog. And if I kill him and try to lead our people, I will have to fight my whole life to hold on to that power. I can’t. That part of me is dead, and I want to live. Even if it’s short, even if it’s painful. I want to live freely.”
