“Rosie, get up, please. Draven is dead.” Vail’s voice shattered the stillness, jolting me out of my numbness. Without a second thought, I whirled around, driven by a surge of raw, unbridled rage. In that moment of overwhelming pain and loss, my hands closed around her throat, lashing out instinctively.
“Do not speak like that!” I warned her.
“It is the truth,” she replied, her voice muffled by my hands. With a wrenching feeling, I tore myself away from her, unwilling to feel the frantic pulse beneath her skin.
“He is a Blood Hunter. He cannot die,” I insisted to Vail, my voice trembling with disbelief and desperation. But as I looked at her, a surge of hatred overwhelmed me.
In that moment, she became the personification of all the wrong turns, every misstep and mistake that had brought us to this tragic end. Blinded by grief, I blamed her, unable to bear the weight of my sorrow alone.
“This is your fault,” I whispered through my tears.
Vail’s eyes glistened with tears as she sank to her knees before me, her head bowing low in defeat. “I know,” she whispered hoarsely. “I know this is my fault, Rosie. I never wanted any of this to happen. I thought I could use my grandmother’s books to help you and Draven. When I returned home, I was so excited. But then, when my grandmother asked me to join her on a mission with her coven, I did not even ask what it was about. I was just so thrilled to be included. I was mistaken.” Her voice trembled with remorse and regret.
I couldn’t bear to meet her gaze any longer; I felt no pity for her. I turned away from her. She reached out to me, but I swatted her hand away. “Do not touch me!” I hissed, my voice filled with venom.
Vail’s face contorted with pain, but she didn’t back down. “We are unable to alter the course of events that have occurred, but you cannot stay here forever.”
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms until they bled. “You expect me to leave?” I spat back at her. “Draven is here, my heart resides with him, and you would have me abandon it?”
Tears shimmered in Vail's eyes as she stood her ground, her voice steady despite the tremor of emotion beneath its surface. “I shall do whatever is necessary to make this right, Rosie. I promise. Although we must finish dealing with the bodies,” she said, her words a calm anchor amidst the storm raging within me.
My glare bore into Vail, but slowly, the anger began to give way to profound sorrow. I couldn’t deny that Draven was gone, and no amount of blame or hatred could change that.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I looked back at Draven's lifeless form. “All right,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
Vail’s shoulders sagged with the weight of our shared guilt, and she nodded in agreement.
With a heavy heart, I reached for Draven’s lifeless body and put the cloak back over his head.
Together, Vail and I began to dig a grave. The soil was damp and heavy, and we had no shovels, so we dug with our hands and pieces of wood. With each scoop of earth, I felt the weight of loss pressing down on me, threatening to suffocate me with its enormity.
As we worked, memories of Draven flooded my mind—memories we shared, the dreams we dared to dream, the love that bound us together. Now, all of it was slipping away, buried.
Finally, the grave was ready. I lifted Draven’s lifeless body and placed him gently into the pit, arranging him with the care and tenderness he deserved. Tears streamed down my face as I looked down at him, knowing that this would be our final farewell.
I removed my wedding ring for the second time since our marriage began. Kissing it tenderly, I placed it on Draven’s chest, a silent pledge of undying love. “I love you,” I whispered, the words choked with grief as tears streamed down my face.
Vail stood beside me, her eyes brimming with tears, as together we began to fill the grave with cold, wet earth. It was a sombre and final act, one that sealed Draven’s fate and marked the end of a chapter in our lives.
As we finished, Vail and I stood side by side, silent and contemplative, looking down at the mound of earth that now covered Draven. The sun had fully risen, casting its warm light upon us, and like yesterday, I stood there in the sun, unharmed. My heart shattered and filled with a seething rage.
“How do I stop?” I whispered, turning to Vail, my voice trembling with the intensity of my emotions.
“Stop what?” she replied, her hand reaching out to grasp mine.
“Stop feeling, stop the pain?” I searched her eyes for answers, my gaze burning with fury. “How do I make it stop?” And then, as if I had flicked a switch, I felt a surge of raw, unbridled anger coursing through my veins. “I am afraid,” I admitted, feeling the weight of my newfound power and the darkness that threatened to consume me.
“I know,” Vail whispered.
“This cannot be happening. This is not the way it was meant to be. Vail, I am immortal. How can I endure this state without him by my side?” My voice rose with each word, echoing my inner turmoil.
“Rosie, you have me. I will take care of you,” Vail reassured me, her voice calm and steady despite the storm raging within me.
I couldn’t afford to let grief overwhelm me. I needed to harness my anger and pain. Even though Draven was no longer here, his memory would live on within me, and that fueled me. Fueled my longing and determination to avenge his death.
FORTY-NINE
February 1, 2010
