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Something was wrong.
The last thing Cara remembered was a sharp pain her chest and the distant feeling of Kahlan's hand clutching her own, weak and desperate all at once. Then darkness crushing in around her, eyelids heavy as she gasped for a breath that wouldn't come.
Her eyes slid open with ease now, and she found herself not in a dank, enclosed tomb, but in a vast bright desert alive with flickering green flames.
Kahlan was there, wearing her white dress. There was something wrong with that, something pressing at the back of Cara's mind. Looking behind her, she saw an image shimmering in the air; she could see the tomb, light flooding in as the heavy stone door was pushed open. She saw Richard kneeling over Kahlan, pressing his fingers to her neck, shaking her, collapsing in tears as he pulled her limp body to his chest. Her own body lay a few paces away, where the man examining it came to the same conclusion.
They hadn't been found in time. Cara felt guilt rise in her chest, swelling until she felt once again like she couldn't breathe. They had wasted too much air, fighting like that. If she had only listened to Kahlan...if she had only succeeded in sacrificing herself. Kahlan was dead because of her.
"Cara." Kahlan's voice had a strange quality to it, a sort of hollow echo that Cara thought must be a product of where they were.
"Kahlan," Cara gasped out, forcing the word past the lump in her throat. "Where—?"
This place felt familiar, but it wasn't the same as when she had died before. She wasn't naked in a sea of writhing bodies; her leathers clung to her as always, her agiels still secure at her side—although their magic was dulled, a faded memory of pain.
"Perdition," Kahlan said with a weak, sad smile. Her cheeks were wet with tears. "The veil to the Underworld was strong in Dunshire. We won't be getting the Keeper's offer."
Cara swallowed roughly, the reality of the situation hitting her hard. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she wondered idly why she should still feel it. She was dead, shouldn't her heart have stopped?
Kahlan looked almost resigned, and Cara wondered if she had died first, if she'd had more time to accept this. An ache flared in her chest at the thought of Kahlan lying dead beside her while she drew her last breath—a breath she could have given to Kahlan, to save her.
"Kahlan, I—" she choked, and cursed herself for being unable to give voice to her feelings even now, when it could hardly matter less. There was no Lord Rahl to betray, only Cara and Kahlan standing together in this empty place between worlds.
"It's all right," Kahlan said softly. "I know."
Cara's eyes widened at the depth of understanding on Kahlan's face. She did know, had known.
The ground opened up behind Kahlan, green fire licking up out of the rift in the earth. Kahlan looked back at it, then met Cara's eyes again.
"We can't stay here," she said regretfully. "This place is only temporary."
Cara glanced over her shoulder, at the image that was starting to fade. "But, Richard—"
"He'll find a way to go on without us." Kahlan's voice trembled with conviction. "He'll win. He always does."
The tomb was gone, now, and the desert behind Cara seemed to be melting, fading. She turned back to Kahlan. "Where will we go?"
"You know where," Kahlan said, her lips curving into a peaceful smile as she extended a hand to Cara. "Come with me."
Cara stared at the offered hand for a long moment. Could she do this? Accept defeat, and just...die?
But she was already defeated.
Kahlan's hand was surprisingly solid and warm in her own, holding tightly as they began to descend into the rift.
Everything went dark again, and when Cara awoke a second time, it was to the familiar sound of agonized screams. She lifted her head from the rock it was resting on and looked around. Her hand felt cold and empty, and Kahlan was nowhere in sight.
She had to be here somewhere. Cara would find her, or spend eternity searching.
This would be her torment.
end.