Chapter 116: Chapter 116

Logan

The clearing was silent as we walked in.

Everyone was dressed as Lycan customs demanded; plain white clothes with their hair let down and unstyled in honojr of the deceased. Those with family members gone placed ashen marks on their forehead and were usually given preferential treatment during the ceremony.

The royal family were the only ones exempted from the dress code, which was why Elias and I had on black and Sienna was dressed in a breathtaking royal blue dress.

One I had plans of taking off of her as soon as the ceremony ended.

We walked side by side to the elevated platform where the members of the Inner Circle stood waiting. I took an unlit torch from Kael and turned to the pack. “Members of Iron Fang!” I bellowed, “The time has come once more to honour our heroes; Lycans who had their lives taken to protect us,”

Sienna held Elias’s hand, staring grimly at the crowd.

My lips thinned before I continued. “Today we do not only remember their sacrifice, we also celebrate the heroes that they were…” My voice faltered as tears pricked the back of my eyes. We’d had a very rough Pyre of the fallen calendar year. We’d been attacked more times than we could count as we still hadn’t been able to get to the root causes.

I blinked away the tears when Sienna took a step to stand beside me, entwining her fingers with mine. I slightly tilted my head to meet her eyes, feeling my strength return from the comforting look in them. My attention returned to the crowd.

“We acknowledge the bravery and the courage they had to fight till the end. The life that we live today, we live behave of these ones, and this will forever be at the back of our minds. Without further ado, may the ceremonies begin!”

Cassian lighted a match and handed it over to me.

Lighting up the torch in my hand with it, I immediately began making my way round the clearing to light up other torches. Sienna and Elias followed immediately behind me, and then the Inner Circle, before the rest of the pack.

Silence covered the field as we walked in a large circle round the pack until each of the torches were lit. We watched the members of the deceased step forward with the touches, their shoulders folding in. One Lycan female fell to the ground like her legs had suddenly just given out.

A cub began wailing amongst them. There were more than just a few sniffles echoing across the field. My heart squeezed inside my chest and I could have sworn the pain wasn’t any different from being staked. They were hurting.

And I couldn’t do a single thing about it but watch. Sienna suspiciously wiped her hand at her eyes as they began tossing their torches onto the pyre. We listened in sacred silence as their wails grew louder and more intense.

More Lycans fell to the floor. Someone rushed out to stop one of the older generations before she hit the floor. We stood in silence as they mourned, silently mourning alongside them. Not for the first time I prayed store the day the ceremony would come and we wouldn’t have lost a single Lycan in the war.

Was it even possible?

It was as if we conquered all the territories around us.

The pyre was large enough for all of the deceased. The wood had been stacked into a raised bed in the center of the clearing, and the bodies were laid across it side by side, close enough for them to touch just slightly.

The Inner circle had kept families together where they could and rest had simply been placed wherever there was room. The seer we’d invited to officiate the ceremony said a small prayer before calling forth the families of the deceased to perform some rites with them.

Her voice carried on minutes after.

“…and may our fallen heroes be lesser in the next ceremony!”

The pack bowed to her.

She returned their bow.

A deep breath escaped me. The ceremony was over. At least the heavy part. Somber music drifted in the air as the Lycans moved about to talk between themselves and express their condolences. Gifts were given to those who’d lost their families in the war.

Nessa and Livia got to serve everyone their meals. I watched Sienna as she moved through the crowd, talking and trying to comfort as many as she could. A hand clapped my back, gaining my attention.

“Well done,” Cassian complimented with a subtle bow, letting his hand fall to the side.

I brushed the compliment off. I would gladly receive compliments when we no longer had corpses to torch. Cassian raised an eyebrow at my indifference. “I know it looks bad, but we won more battles than we lost. We just had a rough year.”

“Hhmm,” I grunted noncommittally, heading over to where Mara stood with Elias. I opened my arms and he immediately ran into them. My shoulders relaxed a fraction, and I felt some of the tension in my muscles seep away.

Mara was staring at me with concern when my eyes lifted to meet hers. Her gaze shifted and I followed it to find Sienna standing helplessly in the crowd, looking a lot like she was going to cry any second.

“I think she took the ceremony very badly,” Mara whispered, drawing her eyebrows together. Her eyes collided with mine and she gestured for Elias to come back to her. “Go,” she said softly. “Be with your mate. The ceremony is already coming to an end.”

I kissed the top of Elias’s head before handing him back to her and nodding my thanks.

She didn’t need to tell me twice.

I found Sienna just as the first drop of tears fell from her eyes. She gripped my arms for support, her throat working. “I hate that I can’t do anything to help them. They’re in so much pain and I can only just–“

“Shh,” I soothed. There were already a few heads turning in our direction. I took her hand in mine, wading through the crowd. “Let’s get out of here.”