Nina's face crumpled the moment Evan spoke, and something inside her broke. She opened her mouth to argue, but her voice faltered into a whisper and then died. Tears started without warning, streaming hot and silent down her cheeks as the truth of the choice settled over her like a shroud. She had chosen those three people herself. She had brought them here and taught them and trusted them.
The idea of leaving them to die felt like a blade through her heart.
"But—" she began, the word barely audible and already useless, and Evan cut her off with a voice that brooked no further protest. "Young Miss, there is no but," he said firmly, his tone hard as stone. "This is your life we are talking about. If they were conscious, they would choose the same. They would sacrifice themselves to keep you alive." His words were blunt and final. He believed them. He believed his promise more than he feared his own conscience.
