He just barely heard the jag-edged gasping that were her last breaths. There was blood running from her mouth, her face growing ever paler as the red stream thickened. He conjured a reserve of strength from nowhere to drag himself to her, to lay a hand on her face. Her trembling hands rose and gripped his face between them, a futile sense of urgency to the grasp. He had not the energy left to be frightened. Her eyes were wide, starting from her face, as if by keeping them forced open, she could stay alive long enough to tell him. Her breast heaved rapidly as she gasped out, frantically, over and over, "I love you, I love you, I love you." All he could do was nod, his own breath too short for speech, his chest caved in. He was crying, though he didn't know how. With his mute acknowledgement of her love, a measure of peace seemed to steal over her wracked frame, her hands searching, clutching at the tattered robes on his ruined chest. Crystal droplets of saltwater fell on the ashy skin of her lips as he bent his head and locked their mouths together in one last kiss. It was a long moment before the life left their broken bodies. The salt of his tears and the salt of her blood mingled freely on their faces as they died on each other's lips.