"Lily?"
"LILY!"
Tave's voice cracked as he dropped to his knees, eyes wide, breath stolen. His hands trembled violently as he stared at the girl before him.
Black flames curled around her palms. Her body… Bruised, bloodied, slashed by blade after blade. Tears streamed freely down her cheeks, glistening beneath the faint mark of the raindrop sigil under her left eye.
This… This couldn't be real.
And yet… It made sense now.
The voice he thought he imagined. The movements that felt so familiar. The rhythm his body knew before his mind could name it.
He had been fighting Lily. The entire time.
"...Tave…" her voice quivered. "I almost… killed you… I'm sorry…"
Her expression crumpled, guilt and sorrow dragging every word down like chains. Tave reached forward, gently taking her right hand.
His grip shook.
"Don't let the fire spread," he whispered. "Don't let it touch the rest of you."
His head dropped. Shaking.
Disbelief. Grief. Rage.
