Palimpsest and perspicacity

"You have to look beneath the surface," she said. "To penetrate the layers."

Now I understand what she meant.

It's a very simple thing, this power, once you can comprehend its form. Like a flower that blossoms from a seed, then peels back its petals to reveal to you its nectar, it lives and grows. I have finally seen its true face, and I know how to care for it. She taught me the way.

And she paid the price.

I will use this power to save her, and then I will destroy it. That is how I must live with myself. That is the price I will pay.