Five days remained and Owen found Celeste standing on the palace balcony overlooking Drak'thar. She'd been there for hours. Not moving. Just watching the violet sky.
"You're leaving..." Owen said.
"Yes," she said without any pause. "Not because Dominus told me to. Staying just means more attacks. More dragons will get hurt. I won't be the reason heaven starts a war on Drak'thar."
"Where will you go?"
"Home." She said it flat. "Back to my city. Face the church. Take whatever punishment they give me."
Owen's chest tightened. "That's suicide."
"It's just… resolution." She turned to him. "The mark is still building energy. Even here, away from sacred ground, it's almost ready. In a few hours it will go off no matter where I am. Better it happens where I pick than somewhere random in the wild."
"You're choosing execution."
