When the girl's bright red blood filled Shalti's vision, she almost instinctively clutched Tang's hand—
Tang held her trembling fingers tightly in his palm, lending her strength with every passing moment:
"Don't get worked up."
He spoke softly, all the while wondering whether the male Drow could reach them during the Silent Hour.
"I should help her—she'll die here."
Shalti murmured, her hands shaking as she struggled to decide whether to pull free of Tang's grasp.
She did not even have a suitable weapon.
All she had was her most basic kindness and the desire to save a girl whose life was draining away...
"No, don't go. It's for our sake—and hers."
Tang tightened his fingers around her hand and guided her gaze toward the girl's face.
At last, Shalti's usually calm expression changed.
Confusion crossed it, followed by surprise:
"I bless you."
Then the girl passed the dagger to the second person:
"I bless you."
To the third:
"I bless you..."
Each blessing sounded deeply heartfelt, as though she truly could go to the Goddess's Heaven after she died.
The girl believed that lie, too. It was what allowed her to endure the pain and remain conscious through her quiet cries.
"Why is this happening...?"
Shalti could not understand anything she was seeing.
For the first time, though, a question stirred not the slightest curiosity in her.
She was only curious about things that made sense.
Everything before her was twisted—their beliefs, their deity, even their lives.
Following an order decided long ago, they lined up to offer the girl their "blessings." By any measure, this was not the first time they had done so.
For today's grand ceremony, they had stayed in the Spider Temple and rehearsed countless times.
Shalti could not even guess how many people they