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Ender said he would rather die than raise his hand against the son of his friends And he was not a lunatic like Achilles' mother was

Achilles He was not Achilles That was his mother's fantasy It was all his mother's fantasy He knew she was crazy, and yet he lived inside her nightmare and shaped his life to make it come true

"What is my name?" he whispered

On the ground at his feet, Ender whispered back: "Don't know Delphiki Arkanian Their faces In yours"

Valentine was beside them now "Please," she said "Can this be over now?"

"I knehispered Ender "Bean's son Petra's Could never"

"Could never what? He's broken your nose He could have killed you"

"I was going to," said Achilles And then the enor to kill him with a kick to the head"

"And the stupid fool would hav

e let you," said Valentine

"One chance," said Ender "In five Kill me Good odds"

"Please," said Valentine "I can't carry hih"

Only when he bent down and lifted Ender up did he realize how badly he had daed his own hands, so hard had been his blows

What if he dies? What if he still dies, even though I don't want him dead now after all?

He bore Ender with studied haste along the ragged ground and Valentine had to jog to keep up They reached the doctor's house long before he was due to leave for the clinic He took one look at Ender and had hiency examination "I can see who lost," said the doctor "But on?"