Amalia
stop thinking so much
But Sam, it seems, values his own life more than any other. And Deimos is right: at the end of the day, he didn't even try. "I'd rather have no brother than a selfish coward," she hisses harshly, leaning forward, claws tearing into the wood. She might have said more, might have done more, but it is then that Evie stands.
Evie. Her sister in more than blood, her best friend, her guardian. Evie who is beautiful and fair and balanced and wise. Evie who has hidden herself away for years in order to keep the peace. Evie who Amalia loves with every fiber of her heart, who she has clung to like a life boat in a storming, unsure sea, who she depends on and adores and has always knows would be there for her, no matter the shadows, no matter the cost.
Evie, who in breaking open breaks the Shield apart.
She is more eloquent than Amalia could ever be, cutting directly to the heart of the matter, the truth of it all. The girl falls silent and lets her speak, anger tempered by admiration for her sister, her Queen. Better at both than she deserves - Rexanna allowed this to happen, after all, and Wessex as well - and now fit to boil as Amalia watches, her dark eyes wide in surprise, then admiration, then agreement, then guilt.
It is only when she turns away that the spell is broken, Amalia at last moving a half-step to follow, extending a hand to lay on her shoulder. "Evie," she whispers, wishing her sister could feel the ache of her heart through the Attuned bond, that she could somehow convey her sorrow and remorse and pride.
Hand still on Evie if she allows it, Amalia turns the weight of her emotion back to Sam. Hard as stone with eyes like flint the Shield glares across at her brother, the weight of the leveled accusations electric in the air between the four of them. "Well, Sam?" the girl asks softly, alto voice thick and dark as smoke. "What more do you have to say, that might possibly justify your sins?"
you're breaking your own heart
