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Tobias shook his head "If you were going to lie, why not just tell them at first, before they had to beat it out of you?"
"They’d never have believed ain their strikes and blows "They had to beat it out ofto happen anyway At least we got so theh, so e now in the war Avenia would waste a great deal of energy chasing shadows that did not exist
Little ain Then en I said, "The arrow hit below her shoulder, but ht’ve missed her heart If she survived the fall, then they would’ve tried to heal her, so they could use her against ently, knowing his words would add to the crushing ache within me "If she survived, of course they would’ve used her and not h I couldn’t find it in me to speak the words She had said it herself ere together Even if she had survived, she would try to die She would choose that, rather than allow herself to beco only stirred my frustrations "Why did she stop that archer? All she had to do was run"
Mott pressed his lips together, then with the same calmness as Tobias had used, said, "She stopped hiry for as best about her"
Maybe he was right, but I still wasn’t sure that Ien had been I dropped my head and said, "Givealive?"
He rode for athat moment just as I was His eyes were closed and his face was tense At last, he said, "I saw her fall from the hill, and I ran toward her, but she was quickly surrounded They reet her"
"A on?"
He shook his head slowly, as if that simple movement took effort "For the burial of the dead That’s where they put her I’m sorry, Jaron"
We went silent Until that moment, I had al that could give on would’ve been called for only one purpose
Finally, I said, "Her mother lives in Tithio, I think"
"Once we’re back in Carthya, I’ll arrange for a e to be sent to her," Mott offered
"No, I’ll do that I owe her ain I started to run it over ed my mind and replaced it "Every part of h ti about cuts and bruises"
"Neither am I"
"Oh"
"Jaron, she saved you because you have to save us She did the right thing for Carthya But only if you turn her death into purpose, and win this war"
I knew that hat I had to do, and yet it didn’t make the task ahead of me any less impossible I only understood now that despite the odds, I still had to succeed