“I cannot,” she smiled up at him. “Thank you for indulging my selfish wish to be loved. You no longer need to carry it forward. I am ready to face my fate.” She rolled away from him and rose, pulling on a simple white dress and facing him. “This is the dress I will go to the Mother in. I thank you for your kindness, Ishaan and I will see you rewarded by the Flight for making my last days blissful.”

“I don’t need any of that, Carina.” It hurt him that she’d ...