[ She'd promised she'd watch to the end. This part is hardest - her hand curls even tighter into the furs around his shoulders. Her forehead presses to the side of his neck. Maybe it's reassurance for both of them. But she'd promised, so she watches. ]

Maybe I shouldn't say it... but you were probably always going to lose here. If you were the villain in a story like this, there was no way you could've.

[ But it isn't a scolding - it's more gentle reassurance, somehow. ]

But I guess with the kind of story this was, nobody won.