(If this is your choice… if the blade has accepted you, then so be it. I cannot take this path from you.)
His heart ached, but another thought followed, gentler, determined:
(Then I will protect you. No matter the storms that come, no matter the danger the Oathblade draws to you… I will stand by your side, even if it costs me everything.)
He did not speak these words. His lips pressed tightly together, holding back the emotions threatening to spill out. Without saying a single thing, he turned away.
But before leaving, he paused at the doorway. His shoulders shook ever so slightly. A single tear slipped down his cheek, glistening in the dim light of the ruined chamber.
(This is all my fault)
Then he left, silently closing the door behind him, carrying both sorrow and hope in his heart.
And Elysia, still clutching the blade, stared at the space where her father had stood.
