Merope’s eyes widened as she backed away from Kur once more. “You said…” A tear slipped silently down her face. “You said – you just said I would never have to go through that again! The pain. You said! You promised!”

Kur pushed his hands up to cover his face as her back hit the mural of her painted face. He said nothing, and his answer did nothing to quench Merope’s growing fear. Her voice came out as a hateful hiss: “How am I to fulfill my destiny if I am stuck in this one damned life?” She turned to face her starry self and her fingers graced over the stars that surrounded the visage before her. “These stars shall never be so glorious without what I have.”

Kur lay back on the bed, completely numb. “I only wanted to be with you once more,” he whispered. “I gave everything for you.”

Merope wasn’t listening to her husbands painful whispers. It was all she could do to keep herself from screaming. Frustration scratched at her until a flash of light lit the room and a door appeared by the bed.