Because if I let you go, I’m committing treason against my own throne. Because if I let you go, I’ll have no choice but to fight against you out there. Because if I let you go, you become my enemy in earnest. And I can’t kill you, princess. I’ve tried. I can’t. Too many damned words. Too much honesty. I settled for, “You know why, Oraya. I’m not done with you.” A sliver of the truth, mixed in with the goad: Come on. Fight me. I wanted her to fight. I’d missed seeing that in her. I’d been begging her for this for weeks. I raised my sword. She did the same. The Nightfire danced with her every
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