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The brilliant white blossoms swayed underfoot as Kitali marched towards him, face stony.
“You made a promise,” she said.
“Do we need to do this now?” he started, but she ignored him.
“You promised me you’d stay close. I told you I couldn’t lose anyone else. And what did you do?” She jabbed a finger at his breastplate. “You threw yourself right at that stupid fucking bird and let yourself get ripped apart-”
“Kitali-”
“You promised,” she repeated, her voice becoming a touch fractured.
Estinien gently cupped her face in his hands and her anger drained away into tears. He bent to kiss her forehead, leaning over her protectively as whatever her next accusation would’ve been dissolved into a jagged gasp.
“I did promise, aye,” he said softly. “And I never left you. I was with you the whole way here. And I also promised your husband that I’d keep you safe. And unfortunately for you, I swore that oath before you even arrived in the Holy See, and that takes priority.”
He pressed his forehead to hers.
“I can't claim I fully understand the workings of this place,” he continued. “But in that moment, I felt I knew what I needed to do. I felt that it was the right time to offer up this life I owe. That I could risk it all on the wager that the rest of you would manage without me. Full glad am I to see that I was right.”
“I told you, you owe me nothing,” she said shakily.
“It still needed to be done for you to move forward,” he insisted. “And now we are all here, at the end, together.” He pressed another kiss to her forehead. “Come, do we not have the source of all our troubles yet to slay?”
Kitali’s hand wrapped firmly around his wrist as they pulled apart.
“I’m not letting you out of my sight.”