Time folded in on itself the way it always does when the worst thing has already happened but no one can bring themselves to say it out loud yet.
The corners of her mouth were bleeding. Someone had untied the gag at some point but she hadn't noticed because Nicholas's head was in her hands, his chest was still, and red was spreading across the stone beneath them.
Through a blur of tears that she shut down, she was memorizing the architecture of a man she hadn't known long enough and was learning too late.
"Guinevere." Her father's voice came from behind her. "It's time to go, Daughter."
The words hit home. Panic fluttered in her chest, then her body rejected it. No, she was not leaving him.
Renwick placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Daughter. I truly am. But there's nothing you can do for him and you are not safe here."
