Page 132 of Enchanted Crown
Nana Mallick hadn’t stood yet but had her arms around her daughter-in-law. She said above her daughter-in-law’s sobbing, “May they find the peace in death that they couldn’t hold in life.”
She gave a nod of thanks to me, and that was that. There was no stomping, no proper send off. What had started out as a funeral out of respect had ended in bloodshed. One disaster of a family affair turned one funeral into two.
I turned and gave Zaire a nod. “Thank you.”
He dipped his dragon head to me.
I found Malachi next. “Esta is heading to her lair after flying a patrol,” I told him. “Can you follow her?”
He gave me a nod. “I’ll give her space but follow.”
I spun on my heel and said to Reyald, “Fetch me a healer, please.”
“Are you not well?” he asked as he scanned me over.
I wanted to answer sarcastically but held my tongue. “For your mother,” I bit out.
Esta’s mother Nyra moved immediately to do as I had asked, while I stooped down to pick up Nana carefully.
“I’m fine,” she bit out.
“No, you’re not,” I argued. She would have already been standing had she been able. That was just the type of woman Isolde was.
I made it four steps before Amaya found us. “Mother!” she gasped. “Mother, are you all right?”
She let out a shaky breath. “I buried two of my own today. Of course, I’m not all right, dear.”
Amaya looked at me and in the direction of the smoke. She looked exhausted. Like she hadn’t slept at all since her own son’spyre had been lit. Her voice was low as she said, “We only need Morana added to that pyre and all of this is over.”
To think of all that had happened which had turned the mediator between the brothers into someone hoping for blood? It spoke to how deep this treachery in the Mallick family ran.
I looked her in the eyes as I added, “But none of it will be forgotten.”
She gave me a nod and followed as I headed for the castle with Nana Mallick.
As we neared Zaccai’s team of healed shifters, they put their arms over their chests and beat twice. The Dra Skor sign for respect. I wasn’t certain if it was for me or for Isolde.
It took the healer a minute to get a chair for Nana, and then she wheeled her off with a promise to let me know how it went, if anything had been broken when Oziel shoved Nana.
Exhausted, I headed to my room. I would check to see if Esta wanted me to come to The Drak or if I should stay and wait to hear about Nana.
“What should we do about Lennix’s wife?” Amory asked, walking with me as we entered my room.
“She can’t go free,” Zaire stated. He’d been shadowing me since he’d taken care of Oziel.
I wanted a long bath and a whiskey. “I’m more worried about her hurting herself than I am of her hurting anyone else. She tried to talk Oziel down.”
He gave me a nod. “I can have Whit select a few shifters to watch over her? He’s good about these types of things.”
“That’ll work.”
But before he could leave to do so, my door was wrenched open.
There stood Avril, tears streaming down her face.
“Avril?” Dex asked, moving toward her.
“If it’s about Oziel,” I told her. “It’s already done.”
