Caspian made a broken sound and went down on his knees. He crawled across the ice, reaching for my fading hands. His fingers passed through the light at their edges.
“No. Elara, please.” He tried to catch my wrist again. “I'll give you anything. Take the crown. Take the empire, take my life. Just stay. Please stay.”
Dorian's nails cut his own cheeks. The hands he kept spotless for surgery were streaked with tears and blood.
“My sister, I'm sorry. Forgive me. I'll give you my blood, all of it. I'll spend eternity healing you. Don't leave me.”
Sylas cast one preservation spell after another. Light formed between his shaking hands and died before it reached me.
“My core for yours. I'll give it all back. Use me as your vessel or your slave. Elara, don't fade.”
Kaelen struck his armored f
