Still human.
The fire crackled and popped, consuming flesh.
Ash drifted through the air. Some settled on my shoulders, my hair, the sleeves of my shirt. I watched a flake land on my hand and thought of Tora at the window this morning, thinking it was snow.
At least she didn’t vomit. She just gagged.
The thought surfaced unbidden, and I held onto it. Most people—even men who had spent years in this life—would have emptied their stomachs at the sight of over a hundred bodies burning.
At the smell.
At the understanding of what that ash really was.
But my Tiger had stood at that window, breathed it in, and kept her spine straight for longer than most.
She'd been horrified.
Shaken.
Angry enough to demand things from me that no one else would dare ask for.
But she hadn't broken down and sobbed like some weak individual.
Continuing to walk, I turned my hand over and watched ash settle into the creases of my palm.
Reo is right. She's stronger than I give her credit for.
A few weeks ago, Nyomi had been a woman with a normal life. A woman who had probably never seen a man burn to death, never smelled burning flesh, never had to reckon with the kind of violence that ran through my veins like blood.
Now she was in my kitchen, preparing for a party honoring killers, holding morale together with her bare hands while the sky rained human remains.
That wasn't survival.
That wasadaptation.
The kind that couldn't be taught.
The kind that either lived inside a person or didn't.
And that was what my Roar wanted for her.
I glanced his way.
Keeping my pace, Reo's jaw was set, and his stride even. To anyone else, he looked untouchable. But I saw the way his left hand stayed loose at his side instead of swinging naturally—protecting the ribs I'd damaged.
The whiskey should have slowed him.
The pain should have shown on his face.
But Reo moved as if neither existed.
I smiled and faced forward.
Movement near the pyre caught my attention. The Lion stood barely five feet from the flames.
If only he could just slip and fall into the flames, my day would be much smoother.
Only the Lion would stand so close to this sort of death.
