In that moment, when they devilish rogue seemed to come to life, hope flared in her chest. That maybe he had seen that this could all still work and that each night they could just be together and find a home… right where they sat now facing the sea. She felt it for only a moment, like a solar flare before his face seemed to soften and just as quickly as it was there, it was gone. The tears sent her rushing forward, not yet breaking from her eyes but enough to blur everything. Make him and the world fuzzy around her, and she knew that’s what she had to look forward to without him. Nothing would be vivid anymore, not the colors, not the edges, not life. It would be all gone without him. Leaving behind a dull gray that threatened to suffocate her.

But the kiss said it all, the goodbye unspoken, the last one. A sob left her lips, more breath than sound, as she turned and squeezed her eyes shut, only then pushing the tears down her face as she reached into her pocket and produced the two vials. One was a swirling purple in color, the other was a clear that was striking in her hand. She wanted him to be at peace, she didn’t know how to remove the plague of a summoning that was killing him at its own vicious pace.

“This one,” she plucked the purple one from her hand, “will make you go to sleep. You shouldn’t feel anything, just… rest. From there… I’ll handle the rest.” She forced her eyes up, trying to look strong as she brushed the tears with the back of her hand that still clutched around the clear one. “I will be here the whole time.” Deimos shifted from the carriage, moving to join them. “Lay down,” she welcomed Ravin to place his head in her lap, if he did, the heavy weight of Deimos head would rest against Ravin’s chest. Tucking him close to both Norah and Deimos, who curled behind her with the rest of his body.

If he did lay, she’d run her fingers instantly through his hair, savoring the feel, and watching him with total heart break and yet all the love she had for him clearly shown on her face. Her hand reaching for his and pressing a kiss to the scarred portion of his palm.

Norah’s sob stabbed at his chest, making him ache with guilt, but Ravin knew that this was the only way. That the choice was not whether or not he survived, but how long is suffering would go on. He brushed his thumb along her cheek in comfort, knowing that there was little he could bring her now.

Ravin lay down and rested his head in her lap. He gazed up at her with watery eyes and a soft, peaceful smile. She was so beautiful, even now with reddened eyes and tearful cheeks. He also took Norah’s scarred hand and pressed a kiss against her palm.

“My Enchantress…” He smiled, pulling her hand against his chest.

The two of them seemed to pause for a moment, his smile was the only thing keeping her from ripping away from him. From denying him such a relief when this was the least she could do to offer him comfort. “My crow,” she could feel the beat of his heart, slightly irregular, but it was her Ravin. “I don’t think I’ve ever thanked you, not properly,” she was stalling. Just another moment. “You saved me in a way that no one else ever could, and you offered me everything life could give. Not just saved me from Dubois and the fate I might have met there,” she never removed her hand from his chest, while the other continued to stroke his hair.

“You saved me from a fate I thought I couldn’t escape and offered me the world,” her voice trembled just a bit, slowly stopping her stroke to his hair and offering him the purple vial. “I don’t have the right to ask this… but, Ravin, if the Goddess lets you,” she paused, “will you wait for me? If she lets you… until I can join you? Will you wait for me?”

Ravin looked up at her as if she were the goddess herself. Perhaps that what she’d always been to him; the one worthy of worship and adoration, who he’d go to the ends of the earth to protect. The path to find his way back to her had been dark, but it had been worth the journey to come back into the light. To her.

“You are my goddess—now, and always,” Ravin squeezed her hand, “And I will wait for you.” He took the vial. He hesitated for a moment, eyes lingering on Norah with sorrow. But as he felt the regret rising, he uncorked the vial and tipped its contents back past his lips.

A tear slipped from Norah’s eye at his answer. Her heart soaring with the ache it felt and the fact he’d wait for her. He’d wait. The hesitation hurt the most, because there was no denying the small flicker of hope that barreled into her… that he’d choose to stay. Hadn’t she shown him enough? Her hand stroked his hair again, resuming the motion and she did the only thing she thought she could: she smiled down to him. “Be at peace, my Crow. Know that you will never be forgotten, and that I will always love you. You have all of my heart and soul.” She whispered to him, watching the heaviness grow in his eyes, the way the tear that fell from her chin bounced on his cheek. Listening to the small rumbling whine that came from Deimos as he shifted closer still.

She’d wait until he was peacefully… blissfully… asleep. Until she knew he had fallen so deep into a sleep, that he perhaps didn’t even dream.

The world had started to fall away; first it was the walls of the carriage, the velvet cushion beneath him. Deimos was there, but soon he disappeared too. The lingering cold of spring was gone, replaced by the warmth of sleep that had for so long evaded him. Then, there was only her. Only Norah in all her perfection; her dark beauty, her endless power. It was her and the distant rushing of the ocean waves arriving on the black sands.

“All my heart…” And then, he was gone. Dropping into a deep sleep where not even the monster could reach him.