“You know I must go,” I said, shoving down the strange urge rising up inside me to attack anything that stood between Cécile and me.

“But the curse… You can’t.”

“I know.” I swallowed hard. “Please go get my parents. Together, they’ll be able to…” Kill me.

“Tristan…” He broke off. “I’ll do everything in my power to finish what we started.” He let go of my arm.

“Thank you.” The words burned in my throat. “Goodbye, Marc.”

I started walking toward the mouth of the River Road. Run. I stifled the urge. “Tips, walk with me.” The half-blood fell into step beside me, struggling to keep up with my pace.

“So this is it?” His voice was dull. Toneless. “What will you do?”

“I must go to her.”

His crutch skidded on the paving stones, but he caught himself before falling. “But you can’t. No amount of power can break through the barrier, it’s been attempted time and time again.”

As if I didn’t know that. “I must try.” And try, and try until my heart stopped beating. At a certain point, I knew logic, reason, and sanity would abandon me in my single-minded pursuit to obey Cécile’s command, and that I would tear all of Trollus asunder in a mad attempt to break free. Word had travelled ahead of us, as through the gloom I could see the guards at the gates mobilizing, preparing themselves for my arrival. Not that they could stop me.

“I’ve little time,” I said. “But there is something I need to say to you before the… the end.”

“I’m listening.”

It was an effort to collect my thoughts, but as much as I knew the fight was over for me, I didn’t want it to be over for everyone else. “For the longest time, I thought this fight was between half-bloods and full-bloods,” I finally said. “But I was wrong. It’s a fight against a flawed ideology. A fight for a different way of life. What sort of blood is flowing through your veins shouldn’t and doesn’t determine how or what you think. If nothing else, what we saw tonight proves that much.”

I cast a backward glance at my city, taking in the towering columns of stone I was leaving behind. “You have Marc and the twins to help, but I think it’s you who needs to unite those who want to see this tyranny overthrown.”

“We need you,” Tips said, despair thick on his voice. “You are our leader.”

“No.” I met his gaze, forcing my feet to stop moving for enough time to say what needed saying. “Others will rise up. They already have. This city is desperate for change, my friend, and you don’t need me to make it happen.”

Tips hesitated for a painfully long moment, and then to my surprise, he bowed low. “It has been a privilege, Your Highness.”

He wouldn’t give up, I could see it in the square of his shoulders. And somehow, that made it easier. “For me as well,” I said. “Goodbye, Tips.”