TIWAZ AND KY-LAR slept on deck in their usual spot at the base of the fore mast, the sail providing enough shade to keep the brilliant sun from baking them. She opened one eye at the rush of flapping wings shifting to rustling fabric and human feet dropping onto the deck. “I didn’t call you, Veridian.”

The ruby-eyed dragon god leaned on the rail across from her, crossing his arms. “You know why I am here, my friend. Even if you do not pray to me, I watch out for you. I am worried about you.” He frowned when she closed her eyes, ignoring him. “You must stop believing everyone will be better off if you are gone. If you hold onto that belief, you will die when you face Alimar.”

“Why should I believe otherwise?” she demanded, voice flat. “It is true everyone will be better once I am gone. I will no longer be a burden to anyone. My only memories are of being Alimar’s slave. My only purpose for existence is to kill Alimar. Once he is gone, the reason for my existence will be gone.”

He frowned, tilting his head to the side. “Tying yourself to darkness will only draw you to darkness. You are better than that.”

Golden eyes opened, but she did not move from where she lounged on Ky-Lar. “Am I better than Alimar? He is the one who made me what I am.”

The dragon god narrowed his eyes. “And what is it you believe he made you?”

“A killer. A bringer of pain and suffering.” She closed her eyes again. “No matter what any around me have tried to teach me, all I bring them is anguish. Unending grief and heartache because I cannot be what they want me to become. I fumble around attempting to learn ‘normalcy.’ I am empty inside when I go through the motions that please them. It is only when I am fighting or training to fight that I feel alive.”

The dragon’s scowl softened. He walked to her and extended his hand to her. It was several minutes until she finally looked up at him, several more until she put her hand in his, allowing him to pull her to her feet and draw her to the railing to look at the flat line of the horizon. “Of course you feel empty inside. You are a true warrior. No one truly understands the heart of a true warrior unless they are one themselves. But it does not make you a killer or bringer of pain and suffering as you believe you are. Unless that is what you wish to be.”

She looked at him sideways, anger simmering in her gaze. “I know what I have done. I have blood on my hands and deaths on my soul. With or without weapons, I know how to kill, and I have killed.” She turned her eyes back to the horizon. “Sometimes, I have enjoyed doing it. I am going with the purpose of killing my master, and I know I will enjoy it, even if it ends my own life.”

“Tell me something.” Veridian waited until she looked at him. “Was it bringing death that you enjoyed, or the contest itself?” She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut, turning her face away. “Being a warrior is more than the result of what we can do. Just as when you learned to forge your weapons, you learned to forge yourself.

“But where a sword is what it is once it is made, a warrior seeks only to continue to improve, to hone their skill. And part of all of that is testing your skill, proving your mettle.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “Those who do not understand make you feel ashamed to be a warrior. You have as much right to be proud of what you are as anyone else.”

“No, I do not! People can be more than one thing. All that I am is a weapon for others to use. Even Kragen—” She cut herself off, gritting her teeth, color suffusing her cheeks.

His expression only darkened slightly. “We are aware of the arrangement you made with the demon.”

“You are?” Tiwaz took a half step back, facing the dragon god. “And you do not condemn me for it?”

“Why? You did not seek the demon out for aid, he sought you. It does not mean we are not troubled. Demons are notorious for turning on those whom they aid. Or ask for aid, in this case.” He sighed, looking into the distance. “I am saddened you did not seek me out instead.”

She pressed her lips together for a moment before she spoke in a whisper. “I bring anguish and heartache.”

He frowned. “If anyone has anguish and heartache because of you, it is because you are loved, and anyone who loves another hurts when the one they love hurts.” He covered her hand on the rail, squeezing. “You see yourself through the eyes of your former master. Not through the eyes of those of us who care about you.”

Tiwaz did not turn to Veridian. “How do you see me if not how I see myself?”

“I see a bringer of mercy and peace. I see one who brings healing.” He chuckled when she looked at him as though he had lost his mind. “I have spoken to many of those souls who had met their end by your hand. All praised you. You brought peace and ended the suffering of those Alimar tortured into insanity. You fought against his magic trying to stay your hand from slaying them. Every fight made you stronger, brought you closer to that moment when you succeeded. They are content knowing they were a part of your journey.”

He touched her chin, gently turning her face back towards him. His thumb rubbed a tear from her cheek. She tried to turn away, but he would not allow her. “We are warriors. The scars we bear run deeper than flesh. The strength we wield is not only physical. We isolate ourselves to protect others as much as others isolate us because they do not understand.”

Tiwaz whispered harshly, “I am not strong.”

He grabbed her by both of her wrists, meeting her startled eyes with fiercely determined ones. “You think you are weak? It takes divine strength to break runic magic. That is why your scars remain. You broke through them many times. The effort—your effort—etched them into your flesh.”

“I am not a god!” she retorted. She tugged her arms, staggering when he released her.

His fierce glare softened. “No, my dear one. You are not a god. That is perhaps the greatest tragedy of all.” They looked over to watch Doom shake her sleeping self’s shoulder, trying to wake her. They walked back together, Veridian holding her hand as she sat back where her body rested. “The child you were born as died when Tiwaz was born.” He put his palm over her heart. “Imagine the possibilities when you are born anew.”

Doom relaxed when Tiwaz’s eyes opened, Ky-lar raising his head and yawning hugely. “Simpkins has a plan. He wants to discuss it with us.”

“Finally. It took him long enough, didn’t it? Baldar said we are only little more than a day out from Golden Mount.” The ship bucked while Doom pulled Tiwaz to her feet. She stumbled, falling against her friend. Her eyes closed as he put his arms around her, a sad smile on her lips in recognition of Veridian’s influence. “You always catch me when I stumble.”

Doom frowned, something behind her words that puzzled him. “Of course? Just as you have always done for me, Ti.” He studied her as she stepped back. “Are you all right? You sound…strange.”

“I’m fine,” she reassured. “Come on. I can’t wait to hear what Simpkins’ idea is.” Doom traded looks with an equally bewildered Ky-Lar before following her.