Chapter 141

Wil stares, almost can't believe this is the same being who held him and rocked him against Her breast only a short while ago, comforted him and made him believe he wasn't broken. Now She is harsh, pitiless, cruel, and commanding, demanding a hopeless solution to a nonexistent choice, Dallin's broad shoulders bending beneath the weight of impossibility. Wil has often wondered how the goddess of healing, childbirth, and comfort could also be the goddess of war. Now he knows.

"We take what the Mother gives us and do our best with it," Wil answers, though he thinks he really shouldn't--this is Dallin's, not his--but he can't help himself. It's unfair, all of it, and She doesn't even seem to care. So many times Dallin has come to Wil's defense, and Wil owes him at least this. "My Guardian could do no less--it isn't in him. You can't ask more."