“What would you do?” Keriya asked. “If it were you against Necrovar, not me?”
Valerion was silent for a time.
“All I can tell you is this,” he said at length. “Whatever path you take, you cannot be conflicted. Inner conflict can destroy you more effectively than all your enemies combined.”
Keriya’s heart turned to ice and fell through her stomach to shatter on the wharf.
“I wasn’t strong enough to handle the difficult choices wartime requires,” Valerion went on. “I wanted to do great things, but I was afraid of sacrifice. I wanted to fight, but I was afraid of loss. My fears consumed me and led me down a dark path. I paid a steep price for it—so did Selaras.”
He fixed his eye on her. “You must be at peace with yourself and your choices, otherwise you will be doomed to fail. You cannot
