A tear rolls down her cheek.
“I’ve gone back and forth for days about what I could possibly say to you all that might help ease the pain—the wound we all feel—but I couldn’t think of anything.” She shakes her head. “I couldn’t think of a single fucking word that would help any of us.”
Silas squeezes my hand, trying to keep himself from falling into despair.
“Grief is an odd thing.” Fen’s voice trembles. “It ebbs and flows like the tides, building and crashing into us like the waves at random times, and it’s deep—deeper I fear, than the sea that surrounds us and deeper than the love that he had for you all.” She fights back tears. “Warrick wouldn’t want us to be sad. In fact, he would be so annoyed that we sit here today doing this.”
A hushed giggle mixed with a painful sob leaves Larkin’s lips, reminiscing on his friend and how true that statement is.
“Warrick was strong, so we must be strong.” Fen glances behind her at his body. “Warrick was wise, and he was quiet,because he used every moment to soak in his surroundings, watching us as if he were always memorizing the best parts of his life.” She turns her gaze, the pain of looking at him too much to bear. “I will live my life that way, now. I will be strong, wise, and quiet in my efforts to absorb the world around me, and I will always remember the good moments and cherish the hard ones for shaping me into the person I am today.”
She pauses for a moment and leans down to grab the blazing torch.
Larkin and Silas rise, walking to stand alongside her as they ignite the wood with an intense flame. They move toward Warrick’s covered body together.
Fen stumbles backward, as if getting too close pains her. From my chair, I see Larkin’s hand go to the small of her back, and Silas takes the lit torch from her trembling hands.
Larkin steps back a few paces with her, holding her as she buries her head in his chest, letting the sobs pour from her quivering lips.
Silas stands alone at the edge of the cliff before Warrick, having a moment of silence with his friend for the last time while the lit torch roars in his unwavering hand. His hair whips in all directions, but this time he’s steady, as if the task before him is sure. He releases a long exhale and takes a step forward.
Tears stream down my cheeks as I watch him slowly lower the flames, and my hand slowly covers my mouth. My heart flips, causing uneven breaths to come from my lips.
Even in the breeze, the sheet covering his body becomes engulfed in a red glow. Silas takes a moment before turning his back slowly. His eyes are red, but no tears fall onto his expressionless face. He walks back to where I sit, and in this moment, I can tell that his body is an empty shell.
We sit in silence, watching the flames devour the platform. Given the horrors we’ve witnessed and with the resurrectionstone still out there, there was no way we could bury Warrick—it isn’t a risk we’re willing to take.
I glance across the sea and watch as the sun shines brighter, casting thousands of diamonds that dance on the water. The warm breeze moves around us, and Silas takes my hand.
I place my other one on top of his.
“I’m here,”I say in my mind.
He doesn’t respond; instead, he tightens his grip around my hand, desperate to remain steady. He’s restraining himself from crumbling.
“I’m always here,” I repeat.
It’s quiet except for the crackling flames, windless breeze, and crashing waves below. It’s peaceful and even in this devastating moment, defeat doesn’t surge through me. Hope does.
The minutes pass by as we remain as a group on the cliff.
Together.
Silas opens his mouth to speak, but pauses, a twisted look of concern etching his face. The wind changes, sending a gust of icy air swirling around us. I glance over at Silas, who furrows his brow as he looks toward the forest behind us. The puffy, white clouds begin to rush across the sky, and a leaden sky replaces them quickly, making all hope I had disappear. I slowly stand and look toward Larkin and Fen, whose faces reflect the same level of unease.
“Briar,” Silas whispers. “Do you feel that?”
My shadows scream at me to run, to get up and race them all somewhere else, but I don’t react—I can’t—and the familiar haunting feeling I’ve once felt creeps into my body, soul, and mind. I’m frozen, and I’m taken back in time to when this happened twice before.
“Hello, Briar.”An ancient male’s voice snakes into my mind, and I go deathly still. “Hope I’m not interrupting.”
I whip my head in all directions, and Silas notices my panic.
We all look around, each of us feeling the apparent shift from lightness to a devastating darkness.
Oak slowly stands, and his hands begin to tremble at his sides. We all shift our gaze away from Oak, unsure of what he sees in this moment.
The color drains from my face as I think of who also sits back there.
