“You must think I’m a real coward, I bet,” Julian adds, interrupting her thoughts. “To see me so frightened, after all my crowing and boasting.”

Aredhel breaks their entanglement. She sits up and turns in his arms, and oh, isn’t he a sight? The sunlight painting his face in soft pinks and oranges, his hair blazing. His grey eyes smolder like coals. Touching his cheek feels like touching a painting.

“No,” she says, shaking her head for emphasis. “No, I think you are brave. But living for something is harder than dying for it.” She adds, more quietly, “I don’t want you to die for me, Julian.”

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AU retelling of "the Star" book, Julian's route.