Jade Fern Grove mea maxima culpa

not why. would he ever tell her why? i was in love with another woman half of our relationship. not to say that the love he'd had for coelacanth replaced his for dawn, for one could love two souls concurrently. but it flew in the face of the wordless promises they'd made to each other.

then again, so had her liaison with the nameless man, here, in these woods.

i'm not a good man, aditya said, shaking his head. i used to think otherwise. but life has only proven me wrong again and again. dawn— i forgive you. say it, you coward. i. . .forgive you. for what you did. i held on too tight when all you wanted was freedom. i understand why you did it.

god, it hurt to tell her that, even if he'd long known it, at least to himself, to be true. did you go back to morningside? he asked, plagued with curiosity for his former family. how are they? how many are they? was the real question, but he kept that one in check.