Page 86 of Grave Situation

I shake my head. I can’t.

“Look at me, Talon,” he orders.

“Master, Ican’t.” My voice is raw. “If I do, she’ll be…”

“She’s dead, Talon. Nothing can change that. Her soul has moved on. It’s right that you grieve for her—she deserves that—but what would she say if she saw you now?”

A sob escapes me.

“Look at me. That’s all you need to do. Just turn your head.”

I take in Tia’s face, committing every last millimeter to memory… but Master’s right. This isn’t her anymore. This face,so still, so devoid of expression, isn’t my sister. Tia never had a thought or feeling she didn’t share.

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and release her hand.

And weep.

Master’s arm comes around my shoulders, and he pulls me to him. “I’m so sorry. So very sorry.”

It’s a long time before my sobs subside, and I draw a shuddering breath. Master passes me a handkerchief.

“The riders want to see her,” he says in a low voice. “And talk to you. As far as I can tell, they don’t know.”

“Nobody will know.”

I grit my teeth, but Master needs to hear that. “Leicht says nobody will know,” I repeat in a flat tone. I want to tell him to get out of my head, but I don’t want to give him the recognition of a response.

Master gulps, but it’s followed by a nod. “Good. We’ll talk about it later, when we can be assured privacy.”

Remembering what Jaimin said, I whisper, “If anyone says anything about the dead archers, play it down.”

This time his eyes widen. “Gods’ turds, Talon. What is this mess?”

There’s no answer to give.

“We’ll talk about that too,” he murmurs grimly. “Are you ready to face the riders?”

I suck in another deep breath. “No. But I will.”

He hesitates. “You know they’ll want to take?—”

“No.” I cut him off firmly. “No. Nobody’s taking her away, not when some maniacs are raising zombies.”

“As her closest family member, you can request a rider’s pyre for her,” he points out. “They won’t inter her.”

“I will, and they’ll do it here, where I can watch and be sure it’s done.” I’m not taking any chances that someone will disrespect Tia’s corpse and reanimate it. I owe her that.

Master sighs. “We’ll see what can be done. What has the stone had to say?”

Bitterness swamps me. “I don’t care.”

He presses his lips together and says nothing, but I know I’ll hear it later. Maybe he’s right, and yes, I need to work with the stone to complete this mission, to avenge Tia’s death and give it some meaning, however small, but at this particular moment… I don’t care. I would happily take a hammer to the stone and see it shattered to dust, even if the end of the world followed.

“Come on then,” Master says, deciding to stick with the safer topic. “The riders are waiting. Rider Master Hearne came himself, and Rider Kanesha. She insisted—said Tia was a favorite of hers and refused to believe it unless she saw with her own eyes.”

I’m glad. Tia liked Kanesha, and she used to tolerate me hanging around a lot more than the other instructors and senior riders. It will be good to have a familiar, fond face here to farewell my sister.

“I’m ready.”

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