Scrunching her face, Bri swallowed, trying to stop the tears as she gritted out, “Forget the East.”

“I thought you wanted to be the master of your own Fate,” Lina murmured.

“I am.” Her hands bracketed Lina’s face as she bent and kissed her. A soft, slow kiss—the one she’d been too afraid to do the first time Lina fell asleep in Bri’s lap. When she pulled back, Lina’s eyes were glimmering too, the clash of joy and sorrow so potent Bri could feel it hanging in the air between them.

Bri spoke the truth that flowed through her: “I don’t care what the Fates whisper; all I hear is your name.”

A tear slid down the side of Lina’s face as her lips pulled up. Her voice trembled as she whispered, “Hold my hand.”

The pleading fear in her voice stabbed through Bri as she grabbed Lina’s hand and squeezed it. Lina blinked and another tear fell, this one a shocking crimson red.

“Hang on, Lina,” Bri’s voice broke, tears spilling down her cheeks. “You are fierce, my dragon. Fight it.”

Lina’s eyes fluttered shut and Bri squeezed her hand tighter.

“We will find a way to fix you, Lina, just, please, hang on.” Bri wept, uncaring if they all witnessed her tears. No one mattered in that moment except the Princess whose hand she held.

Lina’s breathing slowed. “I don’t know if I can.”

“You can. You must,” Bri sobbed, shaking Lina to try to rouse her. She bent and brushed another salty kiss to her lips, tasting the metallic tang of blood. “I’m going to hold you every night until you drift off to sleep in my arms.” Another tear slid down her cheek as she promised the future she saw every time she closed her eyes. “You’re going to marry me. We’ll plant the seeds of our children in this castle and watch them grow until they crack through the roof. We’ll be a family, Lina, just please, Gods, hang on.”

Lina took a shuddering breath. Her eyes strained open as she wiped away Bri’s tear. “I would deny the Goddess of Death herself, Bri, if it would ease your pain.”

The tears slipped heavier from Bri’s eyes as she watched Lina battle to stay awake, hanging on for Bri and not for herself. The sound of rushing footsteps pounded into the room.

“We found someone.” It was the biting voice of Renwick.

Craning her neck, Bri saw that he held an elderly woman by the neckline of her dress. He shoved her into the room, the totem bag around her neck bouncing against her chest.