The five towering, blood-soaked Alpha Kings froze in their tracks.
Zarek looked down at his adopted daughter, his chest heaving with residual, heartbroken rage. "Tanith, move out of the way. She is not your mother anymore. You heard her."
"No!" Tanith shrieked, stomping her small foot against the floorboards. She pointed a trembling finger directly at the colossal Dragon King. "You called her selfish! How could you call her selfish, Papa Zarek?! She didn't leave because she wanted to run away! She left to step in front of the monster so it wouldn't eat us!"
The Warlords went completely, dead silent.
"She read the diary!" Tanith continued, her high voice cracking under the agonizing weight of her tears. "You all read the diary! You know what the gods wanted! If she didn't give them her soul, Abaddon would have killed all of us! She gave up her smile, she gave up everything so you wouldn't have to die fighting a war you couldn't win!"
