I opened my mouth to accept the Keeper's bargain.
To trade my voice for Astro's life.
To choose silence over losing him.
But then I stopped.
Because that was still choosing. Still playing by their rules. Still accepting that someone had to lose something for us to survive.
And I was done playing by their rules.
I pulled away from Kael's grip, stumbling toward where my own heart-tree waited on the silver path. My legs barely held me, exhaustion making every step agony.
"Haven, what are you doing?" The Keeper's voice held genuine confusion. "The deal expires in seconds."
I didn't answer. Couldn't waste the words I still had.
I reached my heart-tree, its silver bark gleaming in the orchard's strange light. The fruit hanging from its branches pulsed with my heartbeat, each one containing pieces of my soul.
In the distance down the gold path, I could see Astro at his own tree. See fire beginning to form in his palms as he prepared to burn it.
No time. No time.
