How?
I stared at Temur's frozen body on the ground. How exactly did things turn this way? I thought everything had been going well, and then those paladins came and…!!
I dropped to my knees and pressed my hand against Temur's chest. Relief flickered when I felt it still beating. His heart was alive but he wasn't responding. No reaction at all.
"Temur? Temur!" My voice came out sharp. "You're not dead. Your head just thinks you are!"
"He can't hear you now," the paladin said calmly with a smile. "The head controls the body. If the head believes it's dead… won't the body shut down eventually? The heart will stop."
He kept talking, but I stopped listening. First Litha. Now Temur.
I hadn't known them long, but they'd helped me in ways I couldn't even begin to repay.
I tapped Temur's chest lightly. "Hang in there."
Then I pushed myself up and began limping toward the corpse of the monster.
