The room froze.
The Emperor slowly turned around. There was no anger on his face only something far more dangerous: the calm of a man who had seen this ending before.
"Do you understand what you are saying?" he asked. "That bond is not merely a marriage vow. It is a balance. A restraint. Without it—"
"I know," Demian interrupted, for the first time daring to cut the Emperor off. "I know what will be lost. I know what may happen to me."
He drew a deep breath. The image of his father surfaced again a man who had chosen with the same conviction, and met the same ruin. This time, Demian did not turn away from that shadow.
"But I also know," he continued, "what will happen if I don't do this."
The Emperor studied him for a long moment. "You speak as if this choice is the only path left."
