In a slow exhale, he gazed at the table full of sharp instruments, until the spark had finally died from his eyes. His horn glowed, showing a beam of pale blue light across the tiny, cramped room. He picked up a scalpel from the nearest tray, the only blade that wasn't stained, and his voice reverberated in a lukewarm tone across the rusted domain.

"We are done," he said. "I have all we need to know. I shall..." He lingered slightly, his mouth hanging open as a pained expression flashed through him, then cleared like a winter's cloud. Finally, he finished with, "I shall end it for you now."

A sputtering voice murmured hoarsely from behind. "Beloved..."

He swiveled around, his hooves dragging through a crimson puddle as he gazed upon her.

She laid on a rusted table beneath a single bulb of cold mana-light. The only part of her still sealed had a coat as smooth as golden silk. When she looked at him, the tears outran the blood.

"Just pr-promise me... that wh-when this is over..." She choked and hissed, "You w-won't do to her what you've done to me."