The woman shook her head slowly. "But don't you get it, Moz? Anathema or not, it wasn't yours to fall in love with."
I swallowed, not knowing what to say, and Pearl came to my rescue again. "We don't always get to choose what we love."
The woman just scowled, sighing heavily as we turned together toward the blaze. It was growing hotter, its center turning blue as the beast's fat and muscle rendered, dripping down into the bonfire's sizzling core. Pearl's fingers wrapped gently around my arm and drew me closer.
The worm kept burning.