"Well, at least one of us will survive," Elaine muttered as R'lissea disappeared over the edge of Avant's shield.
"You can't give up!" I said, tail flicking anxiously. "Please, there's still hope."
My words sounded hollow even to my own ears. No matter how brave a face I put on for R'lissea, inside, I was just as scared.
To my surprise, Elaine took a deep breath. The fear faded from her eyes, replaced with stone-cold composure.
"You're right," she said, adjusting her grip on her obsidian sword. "This is why you had me promise, isn't it? This is the time to give my life for my empire."
"That…remains to be seen," I muttered, looking at the ground. In the dozen or so glimpses I caught of the Future, she only died in eleven of them. But even I knew that wouldn't exactly be encouraging to hear.
"Xiviyah," she said, prompting me to look up.
"Y-yes?"
She smiled as she caught my eye, but it was a distant smile. A sad one.
"You're a bad liar."
