He nods before turning back to the room our mate is in.
"We're going to be stuck with the heavy lifting on the healing and alpha bark lessons." I look at Easton as he flies over and lands on my shoulder.
I walkus back into the room. Feray is finishing wrapping her mother's bones. Her eyes lock with mine, and they're all wolf.
"We need to feed Easton and lay my parents to rest. They've waited long enough."
She takes the cloth filled with bones and walks past me, heading toward the stairs.
"What did I miss?" Khal holds several items from the room in his arms.
"She knows her mother died saving her. She figured out that the answers she seeks are in the tundra somewhere."
He pulls out a map from the belongings. Along the margin is a history of which alpha and which Luna came from what town. Hundreds of years of wolf history written down.
Her mom came from Crescent Valley. Her father from Dunnum.
Looking down the list of names, I remember most of them. Some were righteous leaders. Others were borderline mad with power.
"They should match up with the names on her family tree somewhere." Khal walks down the hallway, following Feray out of the house.
Easton and I bring up the rear and come outside to find Feray shifted, digging in the middle of the yard. Torben's bear is using its massive paws to move the soil she's kicking out of the hole.
"She's making quick work of the yard."
"This isn't how we wanted her to find her parents." Khal stands holding the bags of bones. "The only bright side is that she knows what happened to them instead of never finding them."
He stares down at the pile of Feray's and Torben's clothing. The box holding the amulets rests on top, placed there reverently.
"I want to know who made the amulets."
Glancing away from the box, I see a very naked Feray walking over toward us.
"I'm going to send them to Fi. Maybe she can sense who made them."
Feray gets dressed and takes the bones from Khal, walking over to the pit she made. Torben's bear is dropping pieces of the house into the pit to burn.
When Feray approaches the hole, she leaps down and lays the bags how she wants them. Torben leans down, lowering his head for her to use to get out.
"Easton." Feray raises a hand, and he flies to her. "Torch them. Send them to the afterlife."
He nods, then rises off her and ignites.
Gone are the dull plumes of his peacock-like form. Every feather burns as bright as the sun as he hovers over the pile. A cone of what looks like pure magma comes out of his beak, burning everything on contact.
The flames dance in Feray's eyes, but she doesn't flinch. She watches her parents turn to ash with the same dead stare that's been haunting her face since we entered that nursery.
Something within her has snapped. I don't think there's a way to go back to how things were.
My innocent, sweet mate is forever changed, having seen how her parents died.
When Easton is satisfied with the fire, he extinguishes his flames and lands on Feray's arm. She walks away with him as if nothing has happened and starts feeding him the venison Khal brought back.
Later that night...
Feray lies curled up with her head on my lap, flaming locks fanned out in all directions. If I were to suspect anyone of being a phoenix, it would have been her with her hair color.
Sometime while Feray sleeps, Easton regains his human form and starts working with Khal on the items Feray retrieved.
