“Change your mind.' It's barely a whisper.

'No.' I sound way more confident than I feel.

'Change. Your. Mind.' HIs hand finds mine, concealed by our tight formation as we descend through the passage. 'Please.'

'I can't.' I shake my head. 'Any more than you would leave Cath and run to the scribes yourself.'

'That's different.' His hand squeezes mine, and I can feel the tension in his fingers, in his arm. 'I'm a rider.'

'Well, maybe I am, too.' I whisper as light appears ahead. I didn't believe it before, not when I couldn't leave because my mother wouldn't let me, but now I have a choice. And I choose to stay.

'Don't be-' He cuts himself off and drops my hand. 'I don't want to bury you, Vi.'

'It's inevitable that one of us will have to bury the other.”