His cuts and bruises ached all over, but the Exile wouldn’t let Caer tend to him. “You said you wanted to defeat the Governors, right? Then I have to train you now. There’s no time to lose.” “Sir?” “Yes, Caer?” She cleared her throat and asked, “Why are you so weak?” “I’m weak because I defied the Governors. Everything rests on Eref now. Had I followed procedure, I would have gone to the Shade this month, transferred life to the Governors, and been given enough strength to last me until next month.” He paused. “But if I had, Eref would be dead as well.” Caer looked at Eref for a moment before turning back to the Exile. She seemed to wait for him to continue. “It took almost everything in me to create that hole in between Light World and Dark World. But it had to be done. For the sake of the Safety.”
