“We must prepare for the funeral…” My voice trailed off as Emma looked at me, doe-like eyes blinking. She had the look of a child that didn’t understand.
Was she eventhereanymore? I didn’t know. I handed her clothes and she put them on, just for something to do.
We proceeded downstairs. Stefan and Delmare were waiting for us.
“It’s time,” Stefan said. He put a hand on my shoulder, and Delmare wrapped her arm around Emma’s waist as we ventured outside.
The shifters had built a pyre on the cliffside. Chairs surrounded the area. Everyone was there to see Lady Magdalina off.
Our friends and family turned our way as Emma and I wandered up the aisle. They bowed their heads, dipping their bodies as we passed.
I hated that they still respected us. We weren’t a king and queen anymore, and even if we were in their eyes, we didn’t deserve to be.
There was a shrouded figure lying on the pyre. It sickened me to look upon her, even though she was covered.
I turned toward Kiara, who was beside the pyre. Kiara would be performing the rites, as she was the only one among us who had any priestess training. She held her staff in her hands, the one which contained the griffin stone. She must’ve hurried to Edinmyre to retrieve it. A risky endeavor, bringing one of the Crystals back to Earth, but Lady Magdalina deserved such an honor. As we came to the front, people lined up behind us.
“We tattoo ourselves when someone we dearly love has passed,” Kiara said quietly. “I promise it won’t hurt.”
Emma shoved her arm out, like she didn’t care if it did. Kiara lightly grasped her forearm. When she pulled her hand away, there was a Malovian rune in the middle of her forearm, black and haunting against her skin.
I’d never gotten a tattoo for my father. I should’ve, at the time, but when he’d passed away I couldn’t bear to do so. Getting a tattoo meant acknowledging he was gone forever.
I wouldn’t be so cowardly with Lady Magdalina. I stuck my arm out, and Kiara gripped my forearm. I felt a tingling sensation there as the ruin embedded in my skin, and I took a step back, so someone else could receive one.
Emma and I took our seats. She stared at the sea and at the death shroud. She was being so quiet. It bothered me. I wish she’d say something, if only so I could hear her voice. I worried myonawilkewas turning into a ghost.
When everyone who desired a tattoo had gotten one, the congregation sat down. Alexei, who would be helping Kiara, slowly pulled off the shroud.
A dagger dug into my heart as I forced myself not to gasp. Lady Magdalina looked so peaceful lying upon the funeral pyre. The blood was gone from her face and eyes, replaced with light makeup, and she wore a navy robe of the finest embroidered silver thread. She appeared as regal as ever. I thought for certain she’d get up from the pyre, and tell us this was all some giant ruse.
It was so strange, seeing someone you’d spoken with mere hours before lie motionless and cold. I couldn’t believe there was no longer life remaining in that body. How could such a vessel, one that had been moving and speaking just days ago, be turned into a statue now?
I didn’t understand death. I didn’t understand life, either.
“We cleaned her up,” Odette whispered from the other side of Emma. She clutched a tissue, and dotted her eyes. “She deserved to look pretty.”
“She shouldn’t have gone out like that.” Theo’s words were hoarse, but Stefan elbowed him, and he failed to say anything more.
Kiara raised her hands to the sky. “Seven Gods, hear our prayer,” she shouted. “We offer you one of our own, a fae who is beloved and cherished. We send to you Lady Bianka Magdalina, a member of Malovia’s circle, and a sorceress unlike any other. Find her soul amongst the dead, and guide her to the Great Hunting Grounds, where she will live on in peace and wonder.”
I’d heard these words spoken many times before at other funerals, including my father’s. But this time, they seemed different somehow. As if the Seven Gods were actually present, and not just looking downward upon us.
Finlay was weeping loudly at the back. It was the first time I’d seen him express such emotion. It was difficult to endure.
Kiara turned to the altar. She sprinkled oil upon Lady Magdalina’s body, then lit a bowl of incense. She circled around the pyre seven times. She began to speak a chant as the incense wafted over Magdalina’s body.
“My spirit flies to the Great Hunting Grounds
And my body returns to the earth.
My remains will feed the elements
As my soul crosses over to paradise
I will go hunting with the gods
And be waiting for you there.”
