Page 116 of Lady of Starfire

“She will be safer behind Witch Wards at this point,” Arianna replied, Jamahl helping her to her feet. “But should you need aid, send word. Stellan and I are swift with wings.”

Arantxa nodded, stepping forward. “She needs to ride with me. Your griffin is still becoming accustomed to you.”

Talwyn nodded, then looked back at Stellan. “Can you carry her, please?”

The Alpha’s brows rose at the word, but he moved to lift Ashtine.

“Wait,” Ashtine said, throwing out a hand. A gust of wind made the Alpha grunt when it hit him. “I apologize,” she whispered. Her pain-filled eyes landed on Eliza. “Can you… Your fire? Please, Eliza? I will take his ashes. So Briar can perform his Farewell.”

Eliza nodded mutely, orange flames igniting as everyone stepped back from Sawyer. How many more friends was she going to have to do this for? She could feel Razik, a solid presence at her back. The ashes were gathered and stored in a glass box clutched tightly to Ashtine’s chest as she was set atop a grey and black griffin, a silver hawk at her shoulder. Arantxa deftly hoisted herself up behind her. Talwyn was astride a golden-tan creature, and when they were nothing but specks in the sky, Maliq disappeared in a flash of soft green light.

And when she had aided the Shifters in honoring their dead, when the sun had long since set, Eliza still had not said a word.

She trudged through the palace to her rooms. Not wanting to dirty any of the furniture with her soiled clothing, she went straight to the bathing room. She did not undress. Instead, she climbed into the dry porcelain tub, curled in on herself, and finally let the tears come.

It wasn’t long before she heard the door of her room open, the muffled footsteps on the ornate rugs. He did not bother undressing either as he climbed into the tub with her. Large hands pulled her to him, and she buried her face in his bare chest as he pulled the tie from her braid and unwound what was left of the plait.

“I am sorry, Eliza,” he murmured.

“This is war,” she said, her voice hard as she wiped angrily at her face. “Death is part of our duty during these times.”

“Death still hurts, even when met with honor.”

She wiped at her tears some more, hating that he was seeing her like this yet again. No one got to see her like this.

A finger hooked under her chin, forcing her face up to his. “You do not need your armor with me.”

“I need my armor with everyone,” she whispered harshly. “Especially you.”

“You can grieve, Eliza. You need to grieve. You do not need to do so alone.”

“Ashtine is the one who has lost yet again. Ashtine and Briar. The Water Court.” Razik reached to wipe her tears this time. “I should be preparing to go to the Fire Court. I should be planning and preparing. The sooner this is over, the fewer sacrifices to be made.”

“The grief will still be there. You cannot outrun it. Their loss and heartache does not diminish your own.”

“I do not need the words of a sage right now,” she snapped, pushing his hands from her face.

“Then what do you need?”

She ground her molars, lips pursing. She needed to not think about Ashtine or Sawyer. Her gaze flicked to him for a heartbeat. “Do you believe Nuri and the seraph? You don’t know them like we do. As an outsider, do you believe them? That they are on our side?”

“It is hard not to believe them after what I witnessed today.”

“I guess,” she murmured, looking out the nearby window. “I never know what to make of Nuri. She is like Scarlett, but different. I think Alaric truly loves Scarlett in some twisted way, but Nuri? She has always been a true means to an end for him.”

“That sounds plausible from what I have seen and been told.”

It took a moment before she realized he was slowly undoing all the buckles and straps of her fighting leathers and carefully setting aside weapons. She was too tired to fight with him anymore tonight.

“Did it seem like she and Mordecai were…something?” she asked when he gently tugged on her foot so he could get at the laces of her boot. She shifted, sliding back some.

“Only someone who has been forced to commit the same atrocities she has could see her for what she is,” Razik answered.

“More profound wisdom,” she murmured, propping her chin on her hand. He reached for her other boot. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“That is a rather broad question,” he answered, and she shoved at his chest with her now bare foot.

“In Siofra. Your power was clearly not drained when you arrived.”

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