Chapter 72 AMY IS GONE!
Chapter 72 AMY IS GONE!
HAVEN
There's this sinking feeling that the death of a close one leaves in you. It's like there's a void in your chest that refuses to be filled no matter how much or how hard you try.
No one can take their place no matter how hard they try to.
I fight back my own tears as I stand by Auren at the front of the funeral ceremony. The priest is busy mumbling the final blessings over the coffin. It's been two days and I still find it hard to believe that the first person to make me feel at home in this foreign land is really no longer alive.
I cried the first time the guard told us the news, again when I saw her lifeless body covered in blood and bruises and again when we were in our bedroom trying to get some sleep. The next day, I realized Auren needs me now more than ever so I stopped crying all together.
He's been handling everything like a king who lost one of his subjects and not like a brother who lost his only sister. He had the servants clean her up and prepare her for the ceremony, had Draven get a coffin from town and had the priest come over to perform said ceremony today.
The royal cemetery is filled with people, all here to mourn the most loved dragon princess. Some are crying their eyes out like Lyra, others look torn apart like Imogen and a majority keep their faces void of any expression like Auren.
“... and may her gentle soul go forth and rest in the Lord's bosom," the priest declares, concluding his ceremony. He turns to Auren and nods. " Your grace, it's now time for her to be buried. Please step forward and shut the coffin.”
I squeeze his hand, silently informing him that I'm here for him. His grip tightens on my hand and he slowly walks towards the coffin, pulling me with him.
We stop before the wooden box and I peer inside it. There lies the person whom I've come to consider a sister, now lifeless and unrecognizable.
I sniff and roughly wipe my eyes with the back of my hand.
Stupid tears. The last thing I want to be doing is cry, not when Auren's been holding himself together ever since the tragedy. He's been the glue that held the whole palace together, and swallowed his own pain so deep that no one can see it.
He lets go of my hands and with trembling hands, he takes hold of the lid of the coffin and gently lowers it. I watch with a painful heart as the lid shuts on my friend, sealing her away forever.
\~~~
“Your Grace, the undead are getting stronger and stronger as the days go by,” Imogen says, his voice raw with unfiltered pain. " First it was Tyren’s daughter, and now it's Amelyn. Who knows who the fuck they'll want next?”
" And they keep calling just one name.” The way Draven directs his glare at me when talking already tells me what I want to know. " They raided Tir’Narel, and now Drakorath. The faes are rebuilding, what if they're next!”
Lyra shakes her head. " The faes are strong, Lord Draven. Eurolys can't attack them from the outside, and he can't get inside without an invitation from his former wife. The faes should be safe.”
I stare at the different version of Lyra I've come to know in the past two days. She's not just the fragile seventeen year old who followed me across the continent. No, ever since she learnt she was a witch, she's been hell-bent on learning more about her powers and what being a witch entails.
I turn my gaze to my husband who hasn't said anything in the past three hours. He's just been sitting on his chair in his private reception chambers, watching us talk and talk.
I don't think he is even listening or actually hearing what I'm saying. I hate that he's this way, all quiet and looking defeated. The undead are fast spreading and if care is not taken, I don't know who might be next.
He rises to his feet, stopping every chatter in the room and pulling us to our feet as well. “Imogen, prepare your spells and potions. Anything that can counter the undead attack even if it's just for a while. Draven, get the soldiers ready, make sure they are well trained. We are fighting against dead people and not humans. Lyra and Mira, I will appreciate your involvement in this. We'll need your mastery of spells to aid us.
He turns to me, staring me down with concern mixed with authority. " You are going to Vaeleria to stay with your mother." I open my mouth to object but he doesn't allow me. “Those things want you. Eurolys wants you. There's absolutely no way in hell that I'm letting you be a part of this battle. You are carrying my child and even if you weren't, you will still go to your mother's. End of discussion."
He returns his gaze to the entire room. " Be prepared in a week, and hope they don't attack any sooner than that.”
And with that, he's left the room.
Silence reigns for a long while before Lyra speaks. “The King is right, Haven. You can't be part of this war. The undead are dangerous and you are pregnant. You'll be risking it if you do."
I sigh because I know she's right. They are all right. I didn't go on with my original plan and had Tyren postpone the ritual for this very reason. So fighting Eurolys and risking the pregnancy is a very bad idea.
Eurolys!
A thought washes over my mind and I turn to my aunt who hasn't said a word. "How can Eurolys be your nephew if he's a sorcerer's son.”
"Why do you think he was able to harness the Ethereal Essence? He's a half witch. His father is a sorcerer, the very one your mother studied under. Isolde is no fool. She knows exactly what she was doing before she seduced him.
" So you mean your…"
“Wait,did you say Isolde?" Draven cuts me off. Aunt Mira nods and my eyes go wide as I realize what every other person in the room just did.
“Auren's supposedly dead mother!"