"No," she shuddered, sucking in a deep breath and holding it as she forced her arms to fall away from him. "You can't." She would never know the road he had to walk, that much was true, but she knew enough to know that there wasn't much of a choice. There were things in his world that only he could fix.

"You've got to go El," Lily was crying, but her words still carried enough conviction to give them weight. Just because she hated this, didn't make it any less true. "I don't know if I can watch," she drew back, putting space between them.

"I don't think I can." Was it a failing that she wouldn't be able to stay at his side to the end?