He pauses, almost amused, almost pitying.
"It took time to reconcile… but you still fail to grasp what stands before you. I was never a choice. I am the consequence."
A low, aching dread coils in my chest. "Kelan—" His name catches, splintering in my throat. "Please. Don't do this."
He gives a slight shrug, maddening in its indifference. "It is not a matter of doing. It is already done."
A strangled scream escapes me. "One moment, you say you cannot live without me and the next. You're done with me?"
"You would not understand," he says with equated ire. "I would rather suffer that pain of living without you, then you not living at all—I told you that every decision I make is to protect others, and the same constitutes here. I am not doing what I want. I am doing what I must."
