Aoife slept soundly on the massive bed, tucked under the down comforter and snuggled into a pile of pillows. Her lips were parted slightly and her long, curly hair splayed over the pillows in a way that made him want to run his fingers through it, but he wouldn't risk waking her.

She was precious.

He hadn't ever expected to find someone so wonderful when he stumbled across a girl with Elina's powers. He hadn't expected to find someone so beautiful, so well matched, someone who rekindled his desire to live after so many years of letting the curse bend and break him.

Sighing, Tarran stood from his chair and walked to the glass balcony doors, slipping outside into the cool night air. He didn't bother to draw the curtains behind him, telling himself it was because if Aoife woke, he didn't want to make her think he'd disappeared. In reality, he wanted to be able to watch her sleep just a little longer.

Glancing through the door once more, Tarran finally turned towards the castle gardens and the night sky. There wasn't a single cloud blocking the view of the stars, and most of the other castle guests and residents were likely asleep by now. He'd been reading for hours, still with no progress.

The stone balcony connected to the rooms next door and gave him a good view of the other balconies on this wing. All the windows were dark and the curtains drawn, all except one.

A gentle, golden light spilled through the thin curtains of the room next door, and only moments later a silhouette appeared through the glass doors. The handle clicked open, and his sister stepped out onto the shared balcony with careful, quiet strides. Her long hair was pinned on top of her head, and she had tied a silk dressing gown tightly over her nightclothes.

"Late night, baby brother?" she asked with a smile, and for once he didn't even mind that she'd called him a baby.

"Late night," he agreed, eyes trained on the sky.

"I never expected to see you so torn up over a girl," Camilla said softly, glancing through the glass doors to where Aoife slept soundly in his bed. "Even Elina didn't make you this wild."

"Elina was like a sister to me," he murmured, shaking his head. "Aoife is... more. So much more."

Camilla wrapped her arm around her brother's shoulders, gently leaning her head against his like she used to when they were children. The old gesture brought him a sense of peace and comfort.

"Are you going to let her try to help you?" she asked.

"For now," he said with a nod, gazing off into the starry sky.

He would never put Aoife in danger. He couldn't. He wanted her safe and happy, and he would not let her die trying to break his curse...

But he had also realized that it would haunt her for the rest of her days if he didn't at least let her try.

Tarran had his own nightmares over what happened in the War, what happened to all the people he tried to save and couldn't. Aoife had a shot, he had to admit, and he truly did not want to die... but he wouldn't let her lose her life over this. It could be that she was right, that her magic was inclined to chase down the spreading rot inside him and counteract it because it was its very nature to do so. It was the nature of life to spread and grow and multiply.

So, too, it was the nature of death. They were equally matched and opposite magics, naturally opposed in every way. Aoife was likely correct that her power wanted to eat away at the death magic in the curse. It would naturally want to eradicate something like that, drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

The horrible part was that he truly was not sure which was stronger- the curse or Aoife's magic. As much as he wanted to live, he wasn't willing to let Aoife risk her life to find out for certain.

In the morning, they would make their way back to the manor. There wasn't much time left for him, and he knew it. Though... at least he would get to spend what was left with her.