Chapter Twenty-Two
Jules died two days later.
The mid-morning light streamed through the windows as she passed into the underworld, cradled in Lilith’s arms. Her hand in mine went rigid, then slack as the last few wheezing breaths left her lungs. Noah’s arm tightened around my shoulders, his other palm wrapping around Lilith’s ankle as she tucked the body of her mother to her chest and sobbed.
It was Noah who reached to close Jules’ eyes. “Rest now, Jules. You are awaited in the beyond.”
Noah and I gave Lilith some time alone, slipping into the kitchen to put the kettle to boil on the stove. I stared out the window at those passing on the street below, wondering how it was they could go through their day when everything had so utterly changed. There was a stone so heavy on my heart I could not find the strength to even breathe.
I’d never made it to Cavera lan Aiyah. To be truthful, I hadn’t left the townhome in two days. Only a few hours after we’d returned Jules had taken a turn for the worse, her breathing becoming ragged and words too difficult. One of the last things she’d told me was to trust Lord Azad and I’d chewed on it while we sat vigil at her bedside. But now, as Iwatched Lilith rock Jules in her arms, I knew the truth of the matter:
There was no leaving Risqeu lan Serangnow.
Wide arms wrapped around me from behind and Noah rested his chin on top of my head.
“I cannot believe she’s gone,” I whispered, wiping furiously at my cheeks.
He turned me and tucked me into his chest. “Keryes calls for us all.”
I often forgot that Vyenurs worshipped the god of death, rather than Amayah or Nasicya. Especially since Noah spent so much time around us, he tended to use our references to the goddesses most often. “Is he merciful?”
He hummed. “He is. Death is always a kindness—it is living that is the hardship.”
We stood huddled together beside the window until the kettle whistled and Noah returned to making tea. I wandered through the rooms, opening each cabinet and door in search of everything we needed to begin the necessary rituals. Eventually I found a pile of fresh linens in a small pantry and gathered a stack of them. Noah snipped some herbs from the window box, steeping them in the leftover boiled water he poured into one of the large stone basins until it cooled.
The room was quiet as we entered. Lilith stood beside Jules’ bed now, her face wet with tears that no longer fell. We approached her slowly, Noah carrying the basin and me the linens.
“Are you ready?” I asked.
She nodded mutely, barely acknowledging Noah as he brushed her shoulder to put down the water on the bedside table. But she did not move, only stared at her mother tangled in the bedsheets as if she were merely asleep. When a minute or so passed, I handed the linen to Noah and took a step closer, tentatively brushing my fingers over herwrist. “Shall I?”
Birdsong slipped through the window, a ray of sunshine burst from behind the clouds. Yet the room was dark, like perpetual night. Eventually, Lilith nodded, choking on her sob. I guided her a few steps away from the bed and into Noah’s arms. He put down the linens to receive her.
Reverently, I drew off the sheets from Jules’ body and folded them at the foot of the bed. The pillows were a haphazard mess behind her, so I took a moment to adjust them, propping her up more comfortably. My eyes stung and the bridge of my nose burned, but I buried the feeling deep inside my chest as I began to undress her.
“I’ll go alert the priestesses.” Noah pressed a kiss to Lilith’s hair and encouraged her forward while he slipped from the room.
After another moment of hesitation, she reached out, helping me pull the loose dress off Jules, stripping the remainder of her clothes from her. We each took a folded linen and dipped it into the fragrant water before washing the body. Lilith crossed to Jules’ small vanity, pulled out an opalescent wide-toothed comb and brushed it through her hair lovingly, lips tensing and releasing with the pressure of holding back her tears.
We would not cry or speak again until the pyre had been lit.
Night was falling through the window by the time we finished. We had wrapped Jules tightly in the rest of the linen, arms crossed over her chest, the scent of herbs from the water Noah changed occasionally cutting through any scent of death. It did not surprise me when Lord Azad appeared before the fire of the sun had even left the sky, slipping through the door like Keryes himself.
He said nothing as he approached, holding a wrapped bundle between his hands. After a moment, he pulled away the fabric and set a wreath ofasivaflowersover Jules’ chest.
“A field of golden grain and river waters sweet and fresh,” he intoned in Kysoi. “Paradise waits for you, Jules Searah.”
I rolled my lips together, my throat aching and sore from holding back my tears. He turned and wrapped Lilith in his embrace. She went willingly, fisting the lapels of his jacket, staring unblinkingly at the body of her mother. It was silly to wonder how he knew Jules had died with the magic running through his veins. But it was a comfort to have him here, especially when Keryes’ priestesses arrived and loaded the body on the ornate bier.
Lilith clutched my arm tightly while we followed the priestesses clad in their dark robes and long veils out of the house and into the street to the sound of a drumbeat. Many fell into step behind us, familiar faces from the neighborhood or immortals whom I’d seen frequenting the den. As we passed the opening of the Souzterain, more trickled out—vendors from the neighboring stalls, people I’d seen countless times in the half year I’d lived here, until it felt like most of the city followed to the temple.
And never once did Lord Azad leave. Our fingers were interlaced, his thumb stroking across my knuckles soothingly, his free arm around Lilith’s shoulder. Noah was on her other side, holding her hand and eyeing those around us. But no one approached as we reached the temple of Keryes, the looming marble columns cold in the moonlight.
The antechamber was just as freezing, though it was by design. We stopped on the threshold as the priestesses placed the bier in the center of the room. They took slow, measured steps away, heads bowed and hands clasped before them. Long, heart-aching moments of silence passed before the high priestess began the death song, the melody weaving through the room and echoing back to us as if there were three of her. As the others joined, the melody turned haunting, sounding asif there was a choir of voices, rather than the few gathered here.
I’d been a witness to the death ritual before—for Solange Searah a few months ago—but I’d only attended the burning for her, not the temple rites. Now my skin prickled and my eyes burned. Lord Azad squeezed my hand while Lilith trembled, tucked between Noah and me. As the song ended, the high priestess extended an arm toward Lilith. When she did not move, we encouraged her across the threshold until two other women came and helped her.
Noah took a step closer, gripping my shoulder as we watched Lilith anointed with ash across her brow, cheeks and lips. Her shoulders shook with the ferocity of her grief, though not a single tear was shed. My heart squeezed and I fought the urge to go to her, my stomach twisting at the sight of her all alone.
