“It’s not your fault,” I tell it. “You don’t know why this is happening to you.”
“I’m a monster,” the thing croons sadly. “If I had known the knight planned to kill me, I would have let him. He did not deserve to die. I do.”
I crook my finger. “Come here.”
The creature pads slowly toward me.
“Do you want to die?” I ask, picking up the piece of broken sword.
It stares at me with expressive, glittering eyes. “I deserve it.”
“Do you want me to kill you?”
“No.”
“Good.” I let the metal fall. I doubt I could have killed it with the small piece of sword, and if it had said yes I would have been hard-pressed to murder the thing with that sad look in its eye, but I’m not about to tell it that. Instead, I pat the ground near my lap. “Lay your head here.”
It shuffles closer and eases its hea
