Page 1 of Fallen Heirs

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~Talon~

The melancholy melody coming from the string quartet on the expansive patio melded with the mood of the last few days.

And in particular, this day now.

Abigail Rose’s memorial.

Shit.Two weeks had passed and I could still picture it as though I was experiencing it again right in the awful, fucked-up moment.

“Mom! Stop! You can’t do this! It will destroy you!”

“It’s the only way.”

An angel dying right before my eyes.

Alena’smotherdying right before our eyes.

A sea of black filled the area.

A whole lot of suits too.

I was donning all black, even down to my shirt and tie.

Orpheus was in black leather pants and one of his out-there fashion blazers, this one black with silver studs.

Even X was in a suit, despite how much he hated that, black like mine, but with a cobalt-blue tie.

Alena had on a black lace dress and knee-high boots, a floppy hat that covered her eyes and cast shadow over most of her face.

She was standing over with Elliot now, the guy in a tailored three-piece suit, looking as suave as ever. He’d given a speech a half hour ago and he’d barely been able to get through it, he’d been so emotional over losing the closest person to him in the world.

The whole ofExemplarwas here, along with the Light Fae King, his six daughters, and key members of his court.

The Dragon Emperor had also shown up, touching down in dragon form, then shifting to his human form in a golden suit with a whole lot of jewelry all over him, even wearing an actual crown with rubies set into the gold.

Even Saryan had come to pay his respects. He had his arm looped in Edgar Marlowe’s and he was over with his son, him and Orpheus dressed in pretty much the same outfit, except for Saryan’s shirt being silver and not black.

The dean was also here mingling with some other key guests, those whose lives Abigail had touched in a positive way, aiding them, or saving them in some way over the years.

It had taken a while for this memorial to come about.

Things had been tumultuous to say the least since that night.

Exemplarhad been without a joint leader, for one, everything falling to Elliot Sabre, who also hadSabre Techto take care of on top of the rest.

All the acolytes and escaped prisoners that Orpheus and his army had defeated that night were being processed and tried, then sent to Valmont. Some had escaped when they’d realized the battle had been going south andExemplarhad been tracking them and rounding them up. Those they could find, anyway. Many were still in the wind.

The same went for Constantine and Lenora.

There’d been no sign of them whatsoever.

The dean and the faculty were trying to return things to normal at Electi Academy.

All the magic that Abigail had in place had fallen upon her death, so all of that needed to be replaced by Elliot or otherExemplarmembers. Saryan had also stepped up and offered his own power too.

There’d been unrest in the supernatural world when word had been leaked of how close Constantine and his followers had come to putting all magic-wielders under his control. People werenothappy at all about that, with good reason. It’d had their faith inExemplarwavering, or even going to hell completely.

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