Already his sister would have begun the painful process of dying. Urian had seen enough of his friends die like that. He’d never watched family perish.
Dreading this, he knew he had to go sit with his father. So he left and headed to her house, where all of his family was already gathered.
Even Geras and Nephele, along with Nephele’s husband, were there. The only one missing was Xanthia. But then she hadn’t really spoken to him much since the night he’d returned Nephele to Kalosis. He wasn’t sure why, and since she refused to speak, he didn’t press it.
Besides, her psychosis wasn’t really his problem, especially now that she was remarried. Though it was ironic that Geras and Nephele still considered him their father. And that was fine by him.
He continued to think of them as his children.
Paris and Davyn greeted him first at the door. Both had swollen eyes.
“I can’t believe she’s doing this.” Paris wiped at his cheeks while Davyn held him.
“Me either. She’d always seemed more levelheaded than this.” Trying to distract himself, he glanced over to the table, where a strange urn had been set. “What’s that?”
Davyn winced. “Tobias made it. He wants to put his mother’s dust in it so that he can keep her with him after …” His voice broke off as his tears began to flow.
Urian understood. Tobias was Tannis’s youngest and her only son. He was the one who was closest to his mother. “Where is she?”
Paris drew a ragged breath. “On her bed. He won’t leave her side.”
“Let me go see them, then.” Urian headed to the back and had to finagle his way through the crowd. By the time he reached Tannis’s room, he barely recognized his own sister. She was so much older already.
Her two daughters lay on each side while her son was at her feet on the bed. His father knelt on the floor, holding Tannis’s infant granddaughter, Marcella, whom her eldest daughter had birthed only two weeks ago.
Helena, who’d been named for their mother, clung to Tannis, but her other daughter, Rhoda, launched herself at Urian as soon as she saw him. “Uncle Uri! Make her stop this!”
“I wish I could, stormy. I tried all day yesterday. All I got for it was insults.” He kissed his niece’s head.
Rhoda wailed in the shrillest of tones. “I’ll never die like this. So help me, I’ll eat every human alive first!”
“Good girl,” his father snarled with pride. “Make sure you pass that fire on to your children.”
“Baba!” Tannis snapped. “Don’t you dare encourage her to such things.”
Someone took Urian’s hand. He glanced down at first, thinking it would be a niece or nephew.
It was Archie.
“Think if one of us bit her, it would keep her from dying?”
Urian considered it. “Might. But then she might kick our asses for the effort. Feel free to try.”
He snorted.
And so their day went, with insufferable slowness as they listened to her screaming in agony and watched her dying. Urian had never felt so helpless. Nor had he hated so much.
By the time dawn came to end her suffering, they were all scarred so deeply that none of them could speak as their father slowly gathered her dust to place in Tobias’s jar.
Tobias cradled it with the tenderest care and placed it on the mantel before he and his sisters went to hold their silent vigil. Urian’s brothers began to disperse with their families. Theo spoke in a quiet whisper to his father while Paris and Davyn came up to Urian.
Paris glanced over to their father. “Davyn and I are going Daimon tonight.”
Urian arched a brow at that. “Pardon?”
A tic started in his twin’s jaw. “After this … I’m not waiting another day or night. Davyn only has a few more months. We decided not to push our luck. You’ve been one for two years now, yeah?”
He nodded.
