Tiān-Mìng stood across from Bai Yue, her starry robes shifting through colors that didn't exist. For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then the goddess sighed.
It was a long, drawn-out sound. Exhausted. Reluctant. Like she was admitting something she'd been hoping to avoid.
"I'm sorry," Tiān-Mìng said.
Bai Yue blinked. "What?"
"I said I'm sorry." The goddess's jaw tightened. She looked away, staring at the dark trees as if they might offer her an escape. "I don't say it often. Don't expect me to say it again."
"You.…..you're sorry." Bai Yue's voice was flat. Disbelieving. "You put me through all of this. You ripped me away from my family. You made me watch them forget me. And you're sorry?"
"Yes."
"That's it? Just 'sorry'?"
Tiān-Mìng's eyes snapped back to her. "What do you want me to say? That I was wrong? That I took it too far? Fine. I was wrong. I took it too far." She crossed her arms. "Happy?"
