She looked down at the pendant, then up at him. "Thank you."

He squeezed her shoulders. "I didn't give it to you so you could kill yourself. It seems like it's the only way I'll get to talk to you and only you."

"How long has it been, then?" Vania asked, glancing around the room before looking up at him once more. "How long has she been wearing my face, using my hands, completely in control of me..." Her eyes welled with tears and she looked away, gaze dropping to her open, empty hands. "...without my even being able to fight back?"

"Two full days since the last afternoon you and I spoke," Eddin replied softly. "Vania..."

"Has there been any news or any indication at all... that there might be a different solution?"

"No," he whispered.

"Ab'bashura said this charm can only be used once, Eddin," Vania said quietly, fingering the lightning bolt before looking up at him. "So... now that it's in use, we both know what I need to do."

Eddin sighed. He gently cupped her cheek, eyes locking on hers. "Yes. I know what we both need to do. And we'll go together. But, first... Do you know who this bitch is that has ruined so many lives?"

Vania turned away, face sliding away from his hand. "I... think I do. Eddin. Her mind has begun eating mine. When you're that close..." she shuddered, "...there's not much that can be hidden."

"Well, when I spoke to her just now before she let you out, she all but admitted to who she used to be. Before she gained power." He reached out and carefully placed his arms around her, drawing her to his chest. "She may go by Calliastra now..."

"She was Caylis," Vania whispered. "Before." She swallowed. "Before she murdered Shehn'nah and Lineia, and somehow stole her power."

"And now she fancies herself a goddess, and is trying to ruin the city she feels slighted her."

"But... how? It doesn't make any sense. Why and how could murdering a tydring woman grant someone so much power?"

"But was she really just tydring?" Eddin asked. "Ab'bashura said Caylis murdered some spiritual being from another plane. Whatever that means. And Rand'din said the Dark Eaters were looking for the demon king's enemy's wife, who appeared to be tydring, but wasn't... And Caylis just bragged about having found and killed the one they sought."

"So... what does that mean? Lineia was... some sort of entity?"

"Deity, according to what Rand'din said."

Vania sighed and turned around to face Eddin, looking up at him, asking softly, "And, really, does any of this matter now? This bitch, Caylis-turned-Calliastra, has murdered so many more people since then. Ruined so many lives. And there's only one way to stop her, no matter her history."

"Right."

"So, we've firmly established she deserves to die, for crimes of murder, sabotage, tyranny, destruction, and plenty of other awful things." She leaned backward against his arms, still looking up at him. She whispered, "You need to let me kill her."

"You mean... let you kill yourself, to kill her with you."

"Eddin," Vania looked up at him, pleading, "there isn't any other way. No one we asked will help. Even Ab'bashura has abandoned the city. We are on our own, against an evil worse than that serial killer dissecting Marked tydring. Worse than the Dark Eaters, though they helped make her this way, and now many of them serve her..."

Eddin nodded, face crumpling to despair. "Is there really no other way? You've been living with her in your mind—you know how far and deep her reach is. You know best the ins and outs of her mind." He whispered, gaze searching Vania's eyes, "You would know best. Is there truly no other option?"

Vania swallowed against the lump in her throat as she shook her head, unable to meet his eyes. "No, Eddin. It's either she and I die together, or she consumes me and terrorizes everyone forever."

Eddin sighed, gaze slowly taking in the room. "Then... where shall we go?" He swallowed. "I'd... rather sis not be the one to find us."

"Us?" Vania asked, going stiff as she slowly looked up at him. "No, Eddin."

"I won't let you go alone," Eddin whispered.

"No, Eddin." She pulled away from him, backing out of his arms. "She's already claimed enough lives—why let her have yours, too?"

"We promised we'd face this darkness together."

Vania shook her head. "No, Eddin. I didn't prevent you from going back to war just so you could—"

"I didn't agree to marry you to save my own life," Eddin broke in. He reached out and grabbed her shoulders, leaning down to look in her eyes. "I didn't become your husband so I could watch you die."

"No. Eddin." She reached up one hand and squeezed his fingers on her shoulder. "Please."

"Vania." His hands slid from her shoulders down her arms, then crept around her back, drawing her in close to his chest. He kissed the top of her head, then murmured into her hair, "You're the only reason I didn't drink myself to death long before I received my summons letter. I'd managed to become functional enough to be allowed out of my room, and out of the house; Mother thought a job would be good for me... I ensured I would be given leave to work without a partner—easier to hide my drinking if someone wasn't constantly with me.

"Then you joined the force, and suddenly, I didn't want to spend my time in a drunken stupor until I finally found oblivion. I didn't want to forget everything anymore—I wanted to remember you. And I found a reason to quit. Every time I was tempted to drink, I'd think of you, instead. I wanted to be a man you'd want to be around, and a drunk didn't fit the bill. It wasn't Prant, Tarva, Earl, or Taric. It wasn't Mother. It wasn't even T'kanna that convinced me to sober up. It was you. Only you and no one else."

His grip loosened and he placed his hands on her shoulders once more, pulling her back enough so he could once more look her in the eye. "Vania. I love you. You're the only reason I'm alive and sober. Please... don't ask me to continue on without you."

Tears ran freely down Vania's face as she sniffled and swallowed hard against her sobs, hands wiping irritably at her nose and eyes. She leaned forward, burying her face into his chest as she sobbed.

"I. Love. You. Eddin," Vania gasped as she sobbed. Her long arms reached around him and clutched at his shoulders, fingers briefly up along his neck, then her arms came down to cling around his back, holding him tightly.

Eddin held her in silence, tears staining his face.

Reluctantly, Vania pulled away. She whispered, "We... don't know how long this charm will last..."

"You're right," Eddin agreed softly, holding her hands. "We should get moving. Somewhere quiet would be nice."

Vania nodded, looking toward the door.

"Did you... want to talk to Derry first?"

Vania swallowed, eyes clenching tightly shut against more tears. She shook her head.

"Okay." Eddin released one of Vania's hands to reach into his pocket, extracting Prant. "We should leave our friends here, too. They can... pass a message on for us. To sis. And Derry. And that way, they won't..."

"They won't see us do it, so they won't be able to share that memory with anyone," Vania whispered. She reached out a hand, saying softly, "Eluri."

The lucid crooned quietly before launching herself from the fireplace mantel to land on Vania's hand. "I need you to remember a message for me, okay?"

"Prant," Eddin said, holding the ferret up to eye level. "I need you to wait here with Eluri for two hours, then go find sis, and give her this message, okay?" He stared hard at the ferret, the animal's beady black eyes locked into his gaze. After a tense silence, both a'marlon and ferret blinked, and Eddin gently lowered Prant to the desktop. "Just... wait here," he said quietly as the ferret cocked its head at him, chittering. "Two hours. Eluri will be with you."

Vania quietly placed Eluri beside Prant.

"Ready?" Eddin asked, holding out one gloved hand to Vania.

She nodded, looking at his hand as she took it, studying the way their fingers intertwined.

Eddin squeezed her fingers gently, saying quietly, "We'll find somewhere quiet." They started to walk to the door together. "I'll... put my military training to good use. It'll... be quick. And painless."

Vania swallowed, squeezing his hand. "She doesn't deserve that. She deserves a slow, agonizing death, feeling each heartbeat, and knowing she is dying, just as I am, until our heart finally stops."

Eddin cringed. "She... might deserve that. But, you don't. And it's your heart, not hers. Your life. And I'll make sure you don't feel any pain."

Vania stopped, causing Eddin to also stop. "Fine," she whispered. She turned to face him once more. "After all, my heart is yours." She squeezed his hand and tried to smile. "There's just one last thing we need to do, first."

"What? What is it?"

"We... need to sleep."

"What?" Eddin asked, brows furrowing. "Why would we need to sleep—"

Vania grabbed Eddin as he collapsed. "Ooof."

Chittering indignantly, Prant leapt from the desk and raced over, Eluri swooping close behind.

Vania groaned as she managed to half-steer, half-catch Eddin until he rested on the bed. She sighed as she looked at his prone form. "I'm sorry, Eddin." She kissed his cheek. "But, I can't have you killing yourself. She's caused enough death. I'll die a thousand times before I let you die because of her."

Prant climbed onto the bed and paced near Eddin's head, chittering.

Eluri gently landed on the covers, crooning at Eddin, then looked up at Vania.

"I'm really glad that worked," Vania murmured as she pulled a pouch from her cloak and produced a small cube with a red star inset. "Sleeping is better than being sealed away with that strange spell from Aleira. Just glad she made that necklace generic, so as long as the pendant was on his skin and he said the trigger word, it worked as well on him as it did on me." She reached over and gently tugged a chain around Eddin's neck, pulling the pendant free from under his shirt. She held the cube out to Eluri. "Eluri. You know how to work this. Just promise me you'll wait one hour before waking him up, okay?"

Eluri crooned softly, fixing her glowing eyes on Vania.

"And then you be with him always. Don't. Don't let him kill himself. Okay?" Vania quickly blinked back her tears. "Tell him I love him, but don't follow me."

Eluri leaned over and butted her head against Vania's hand.

Vania sobbed softly and scratched the lucid's ears. Then she reached over to the ferret and gently stroked his back. "He'll be okay, Prant. I promise. But, you need to be strong for him, okay? Help him get through this. Don't let him start drinking again."

The ferret chittered at her quizzically, cocking his head at her.

"It'll be okay," she whispered. "The worst will be over soon." She leaned over the bed, gently stroking Eddin's cheek. "I love you, Eddin." She kissed him. As she pulled away, she admitted quietly, "You're the reason I didn't kill myself the night after my first Marked episode. It wasn't for Derry and Licia and the kids, like I let you believe. It was you. Only you." She kissed him again, letting her forehead rest against his. "Don't let this destroy you. Find happiness. Somehow. Somewhere." She straightened and looked around the room. As she eyed the door, with all its wards, she frowned. I'd really rather not risk running into someone. She looked over to the window, then quickly crossed the room.

Climbing up on the desk, she held her hands against the wards. They flashed as her fingers tingled. She unlocked the windows and threw them open quickly. T'kanna will have sensed that. I need to go. I can't lose my headstart. She paused, crouched on the windowsill, and looked back into the room. Eluri and Prant sat together, keeping watch over the sleeping Eddin.

She swallowed and blinked rapidly. "Goodbye." She jumped from the window, snapping her wings open wide, disappearing into the stormy sky.