My voice came out thin, but Caspian heard every word.
"Your love now is too late. It's worthless." I swallowed against the poison in my throat. "And frankly, it's repulsive."
Caspian drew back. His hands dropped onto the ice, and the other three men went quiet.
A chime sounded in my mind.
[Obliteration procedure complete. Farewell, Host.]
My fingertips dissolved into gold points of light. The change moved over my hands, up my arms, and through the wounds in my chest.
Flesh, blood, and the last scraps of my ruined dress loosened into the same drifting light. Nothing fell back onto the ice.
Caspian lunged and tried to catch my shoulders. His hands closed on empty air. He tried again, gathering light against his chest until it slipped between his fingers.
He called my name and closed
