"You're lying," Lilia said after a beat of silence, a strange, numb calm settling over her. "You just want an excuse to hurt me."
"I'm not lying," the Wizard of Improbability said in a slightly offended tone. "Azca, you still have that wonderfully useful sword on you, yes?"
It took Connor, Lilia, and Azca a moment to even remember what weapon the man was referring to in their shock. Then, Lilia remembered when she had first arrived in Dwirinel, the method that had informed Connor and Azca that she wasn't lying about them being in a book and had informed her that that the world around her was real.
The Sword of Truth.
Azca reached under his cloak and unsheathed the katana. Although Lilia had only seen it once, she remembered it all too well.
The Wizard held out his hand for it, raising his eyebrows expectantly. Azca glanced at Connor and Lilia, obviously dubious about handing over a priceless artifact to this madman.
Finally, though, he sighed and held out the sword hilt-first. The Wizard accepted it with a gracious smile, held it in front of his chest, and said in a clear, deliberate voice, "The only way for Lilia to return to Earth is to die in Dwirinel."
The sword did absolutely nothing.
"Oh my god," Lilia breathed, the room starting to spin. She grabbed Connor's shoulder to keep from toppling to the ground.
"This can't be happening," Connor muttered to himself. "By the gods, please, no."
"Aren't there any other ways?" Azca demanded desperately.
"No," the Wizard said. The sword remained perfectly still.
"Then you're not leaving," Connor said firmly.
"Connor," Lilia started, turning to him. He shook his head firmly.
"I'm sorry, but I can't watch you die. I just can't."
"I do so adore a love story," the Wizard said dryly. "Now, let's get going. Chop, chop." He snapped his fingers with his free hand and pointed the Sword of Truth at Lilia.
"Absolutely not," Azca said briskly, making Lilia sigh in relief. He held out his hand for the sword. "Killing or no, nobody is soiling this blade."
"Thanks, Azca," Lilia muttered, realizing that the "absolutely not" had merely been directed at the thought of the blade being used as a weapon as hysterical giggles rose in her chest. She couldn't control the crazy grin that spread over her face, even when Connor looked at her as though she had truly lost it, his eyes panic-filled.
The Wizard sighed, rolling his eyes but complying. He returned the Sword of Truth to Azca and held up his hands as if to say, There - you happy?
Lilia's head ached with an approaching migraine. Dying? She had been expecting pain of some sort - heroes rarely got to return home without it - but having to die? She, like any other sane human, had always been apprehensive at the thought of her own death. If the Wizard was correct (which the sword swore he was), dying would return her to Earth safe and sound, but it wouldn't be fast or painless. After all, the most deadly weapons this world had were swords, not guns that could make the process nearly instantaneous.
"Stop," Connor snapped, watching her as her expression morphed into thoughtfulness. "Stop considering this. We are not killing you!"
Lilia looked at him, her throat clogged with sympathy; not for herself, but for him. She could never do what Theresa had managed. She could never learn to fit in perfectly in this world. She would miss her family, running water, electricity - everything that Dwirinel did not have. For a crazy moment, she found herself wishing for the same thing the Wizard wanted: for the two worlds to unify. No, she reprimanded herself strictly. That would cause chaos and confusion, not bring out the best in both worlds.
Lilia truly wanted to stay in Dwirinel. She wanted to experience more of the culture. She wanted to learn to fight. She wanted to join the rebellion. She wanted to fill Theresa's shoes, large as they were.
But she wasn't Theresa. She was Lilia Well, and there was no use in pretending to be anything else.
"I have to go home, Connor," she whispered. "I couldn't fit in here, ever. Please, you know I couldn't."
"So?" Connor asked, obviously grasping at straws. "So you wouldn't entirely fit in here. You'd be safe, at least!"
"This is my safest option," Lilia countered. "Connor, Theresa died after only two years here, and she was stronger than I am."
"That was only because you distracted her in the middle of a battle!"
Lilia knew his words weren't meant to be an accusation per se, but they still hurt. "So? That book's still back on Earth, which means other clueless people like my family could get their hands on it, and I could end up in the same exact position as Theresa, dragged back to Earth. I want to stay here, Connor, believe me when I say that, but I can't. I can't keep lying to myself or anyone else."
"No." Connor shook his head, repeating the word. "No."
"I'm willing to go through with this," Lilia said, turning back to the Wizard.
"No!" Connor shouted suddenly, grabbing her forearm and twisting her around to look at his pain-filled face. "Lilia, you are one of the only people I care about in this world and if for some reason this process doesn't work, I will be left with nothing but your corpse! I can't lose you, too! I can't!"
Lilia cupped his face gently in her hand. "This is my choice, Connor," she whispered. The boy turned his face into her hand, closing his eyes for a second and breathing deeply.
Azca cleared his throat to get her attention. When Lilia looked at him, he had his arms open wide. She threw herself into them, burying her face in his cloak.
"It was a privilege and an honor to meet you, Lilia," he said formally, fondness tinging his voice.
"It was a privilege and an honor to meet you, too, Azca," she replied just as formally. She smiled up at him and detached herself from his embrace reluctantly.
She turned to the Wizard. "It's been days since I left home. What'll I tell everyone?"
"Well," the Wizard said, thinking, "how about this? I return you home five minutes after you left Earth on the condition that you pass on the book."
Lilia felt her heart drop. Pass on the book? It was her only way back to Connor and all of the friends she had made, and even if it meant recurring, painful death, Lilia wanted to keep and reuse the tome of magic.
Reading her expression accurately, the Wizard sighed and reluctantly added, "And I'll give you a second book for your personal collection."
A grin split Lilia's face. Then, it dimmed. "Wait, pass on the book? Put other innocent people in danger?"
"I'm modifying the game," the Wizard said lightly. He pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Lilia. "At this address is a teenage girl who dropped out of school when she was sixteen to support her family and is currently not only in an abusive relationship with her boyfriend, but is thinking about starting drugs. Send the book to her. Give her a way out."
Lilia stared at the man in front of her, so far in the deep end and yet willing to start changing his cruel ways. "And the Improbable Slaves," she added, remembering their inhumane mental conditions.
The Wizard shook his head. "Sorry, love. Those folks are mine, through and through. I will, however, mark my territory much more clearly. Signs and such. Then only idiots who deserve to be enslaved will pass into my land."
Lilia shrugged. It was the best she was going to get, she knew. "So, I get killed, sent back to Earth, pass on the book, and I keep one for me. Anything else?"
"Oh!" The Wizard snapped her fingers. "I've got a very interesting news article for you. I think you'll find it fascinating." He reached inside a small box sitting atop the glass desk and passed her a sealed envelope. "Don't open it until you get home," he ordered, and Lilia nodded.
"I guess I should say goodbye now," Lilia murmured, turning to her friend and boyfriend. Azca hugged her one more time and promised, "I will start working on painless death potions right away. For your next visits, that is." He kissed her forehead softly and left the office, opening one of the huge doors only big enough to slip into the hallway before closing it behind him.
"Connor," Lilia said gently focusing on her attention on her boyfriend, "you don't have to do this if you truly think you can't...but I - I want you to kill me."
Connor looked at her with eyes shining with tears. However, he nodded wordlessly.
"I'll give you two some time alone then," the Wizard said briskly, brushing off his hands as if brushing off the whole ordeal and making as if to leave the room.
"The book?" Lilia asked dryly, stopping him.
"Oh, I almost managed to forget," the Wizard said sadly, reaching past the desk to the large bookshelf to grab a small, wrapped package from the middle shelf, identical to the one Lilia had received, but without her name spelled across the paper. She accepted it and tucked it into her waistband.
"Adios, then," the Wizard said with a sigh. He paused at the door, glancing back at them. "I have to say, I am rather impressed with your perseverance. Apply that kind of effort to your Earthen life, Lilia, and it might not be so dreadfully dull." He winked cheekily and left the room.
Lilia turned to Connor, feeling the awkwardness between them like a living, breathing thing. What was she supposed to say to him in a situation like this? "Sorry that you have to kill me?" "See you later, babe?"
Connor broke the silence and rested his forehead against hers. "I love you," he said quietly, and Lilia's heart caught at the three simple words.
"I love you, too," she whispered, and knew it was the absolute truth.
Connor pressed his mouth to hers in a lingering kiss that left Lilia's entire body feeling tingly. "It was a pleasure to have met you, Lilia of Earth," he whispered. Lilia felt something wet rolling down her face and realized she was crying, both from the farewell and her fear.
"And you, Connor of Dwirinel," she choked out in a broken whisper. Tears started to fall down Connor's cheeks as well.
He wrapped an arm around her back, holding her steadily. Lilia saw something glint in his other hand and squeezed her eyes shut, the fear smashing into her in brutal waves. She felt like she was going to be sick to her stomach with dreadful anticipation.
Connor hugged her close, driving his dagger upward into her ribcage, and smoothly pulled out the blade, still holding her to him. The pain took a second to hit, and once it did, it erased any other emotion. It was exquisitely awful, attacking Lilia from all sides, shutting down her brain until the only thought coming through was make it stop.
Her legs gave out and Connor barely caught her. The world was going blurry. Her chest was warm, hot, fiery hot. She was burning alive, writhing in her personal hell.
And then the world slowly faded out, and the last thing she heard was the rush of blood in her ears.