"Do you see it now?" His smile stretched soulless from ear to ear. "It could never have been any other way. Fate, if you—"

"Shut up." Her words hung heavy, slowed and slurred. "Just for a moment. Let me die in peace."

He knelt, crooked form creaking. "If you will, is what I was going to say." He touched her cheek with an ash-white hand. "Do you disagree?"

"Maybe." Her gaze unfocused. "I... could have..."

"Nothing," he whispered.

She died.