Page 40 of The Scattered Bones

“Put them on, wife,” Kaid said, his voice so beautiful and soft despite his tears. “It’s all right.”

With a wet and ugly sob, I sat up, tugging his shirt closed around my exposed breasts, and accepted the pants from Valka. I slid them on, pulling the strings tight, my body too dressed as Kaid stood too bare.

“You’ve been found guilty of defiling a vessel of the Pure One, thief,” Hreinasta said, too haughty for the gravity of this horror. “Your soul has been bound to your body, and you will remain awake until the end. Then you shall be scattered to the far corners of the realm.”

“Scattered? What are you talking about?” I looked wildly up at Valka, but he simply gazed at me with cold indifference before returning to my husband. Kaid shook uncontrollably, but he didn’t fight, determined to keep War’s threats from me.

“What are you going to do to him?” My voice was hysterical.

“Sellah,” Kaid’s deep rumble cut through my terror. “Sellah, my love, look at me.” I obeyed, barely able to see through the tears. “I will love you until I am nothing but dust, and even then, I’ll still love you.”

“Don’t.” This wasn’t goodbye. It couldn’t be goodbye.

“My goddess,” he said loud and clear, his beloved term for me a defiant slap to Hreinasta’s ego. “Look away. Don’t watch this.”

“No,” I sobbed. “I’m not leaving you.”

“I love you, Sellah.”

“I don’t love you.” He gave me a sad smile as I repeated his words back to him. My feelings were too infinite to be contained by a simple word, and I was losing it, losing him.

“Until I am dust, wife.”

“Until I am dust.”

Kaid looked at the violent god, and his bravery in the face of his punishment surprised even War. The room stilled for a moment as everyone stood in awe of my husband, and Valka nodded. His soldiers moved to Kaid, stretching his arms and legs out at his sides, but Kaid did not fight. He did not struggle. He did it for me so that I might not endure Hreinasta’s wrath.

And then Valka raised his sword and swung.

I screamed in horror as my beloved thief roared in pain. The blade slid through his shoulder, slicing his arm clean off his body. Blood exploded from the wound, and with a terror that wouldn’t stop, I understood Hreinasta’s words. He would remain awake as they cut him to pieces.

I bolted to my feet, racing for him as if I could stop War.

“Sellah, no,” Kaid cried, spitting blood. “Please.”

As if to reinforce his threat, Valka turned to stare at me, and I crumpled to my knees before my husband, his blood already pooling on the stone. I felt Hreinasta’s satisfaction polluting the air at my back, but Valka seemed impressed by Kaid’s strength.

“I’ll make it quick,” War whispered so that the Pure One couldn’t hear his small mercy before moving to Kaid’s other arm. “For your bravery, I will not prolong your suffering.” With the bloody sword, he severed the limb. Kaid screamed. I vomited, but I wiped my mouth and turned my gaze to my husband. I told him I wouldn’t leave him alone. Until death. Until we were dust.

A soldier laid Kaid’s arms on the floor, and Valka slashed his hands from his wrists. War’s acolytes then bound them in cloth and carried them from the temple as the god returned to Kaid.

He made good on his promise, working swiftly as the soldiers gripped Kaid’s torso to keep him upright. Valka carved through Kaid’s knee in one swift stroke and then sliced his thigh off at his hip. Blood poured from his severed body, the crimson pooling around my knees, but I didn’t move, letting its warmth bathe me. The tears wouldn’t stop as I watched, as I forced myself to stay with him until the end, for Kaid showed no signs of passing out as the god’s power kept him awake.

“I’m so sorry,” I mumbled as War separated his other leg at the hip, leaving that one whole. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” It was all I could say as the soldiers lowered his limbless torso to the floor.

Kaid couldn’t speak, his skin growing pale, but he held my gaze with unwavering conviction as the acolytes wrapped his limbs and carried them away. But his dulling eyes spoke volumes.Until I am dust.

Without realizing I was moving, I crawled through his blood until I crouched before his face. Valka lifted his sword but froze as I moved into his blade’s path. Hreinasta mumbled her annoyance at the delay, but War ignored her, granting me a final moment with the man I loved. I gripped Kaid’s chin and kissed him. He could barely move, his lips limp against mine, but his fading eyes spoke for his mouth.Until I am dust.

Valka grunted, and I retreated through the blood. I did not abandon my husband, though. I only withdrew enough for the blade to swing without catching me. That moment between us stretched out for an eternity. I saw every experience we would never have, each word I would never speak to him. We stayed locked together in a wordless conversation, dread for the end thick, but not as heavy as the love. In those last seconds, there was no hate in my husband’s eyes, no regret. Only unbearable pain and unending love.

I lifted my fingers to my lips and kissed them, his blood staining my mouth as I said goodbye, and then War raised his blade and beheaded Kaid.

Thirteen

The forest is still. Normal. Serene. Not the darkness I’ve come to expect. Not the chilling oppression that usually accompanies the call of his bones. The towering foliage is vibrant and thick, the gnarled branches and rough bark rich with an ancient knowledge that only comes from decades of undisturbed growth. The underbrush is understatedly magnificent, and as I push through the peaceful trees, I worry my intuition has finally led me astray. I have one more scattered part to find. Only one piece until his body is whole, and I always knew reclaiming this one would be the most difficult. His head won’t be found willingly, and I wonder if these woods are here to mock me. They’re too beautiful and green to house the black magic of a soul bound to flesh and then carved into pieces.

Yet the pull of our marriage bond led me here. Somewhere in this dense forest, his final piece lies in wait, despite how easy this last task appears. I’m almost afraid to hope that this is the end, that I’ve finally completed my quest. This past cycle and a half has been nothing but pain and strife, a struggle I barely survived. I’m no longer the beauty worthy of Hreinasta I once was. My body is too thin, my bones stick out, my flesh is scarred, my skin peels from the sun, and my hair’s brittle with malnutrition. It’s been a cycle since The Stranger set me on this path, the Thaw cool this far north. Seasons have passed since I saw Kaid, the details of his face blurring together in my memory, the sound of his voice lost in the past. I say his name as I walk so I don’t forget. I won’t abandon him to history. His death cannot be in vain, cannot be because the Pure One is too weak in her conviction to live among us and follow her own demands.

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