Page 182 of Of Blood and Banes
When I look back down at him, he chokes out with his eyes half-closed, “It’s…too late.”
Melaina’s cry breaks something in me, and she curls her shoulders inward as if she can protect her father from his own looming fate. Archie comes up behind her, resting a cautious hand on her shoulder.
Sethan’s grip on my wrist intensifies. “Success is…a decision.”
He lets go of me and rests his hand on Melaina’s forearm as his head begins to lull back, fighting with every staggered breath and drag of his eyelids to stay conscious.
“I may have never been the best father to you. But…I never wanted to leave you, Melbell,” his voice is mangled by blood,spilling out of his mouth in gurgling streams. “I want you to be happy. I…love…”
You.
His hand slips off Melaina’s arm, and the gurgling in his mouth ceases. His head falls back as the life in his eyes fades.
Melaina screams.
CHAPTER 58
AND THE STARS
After those Nightfort civilians who’ve fought on our side have helped us settle into the city with fresh baths, clothes, food, and any wound care, we head to the northernmost point of Nightfort after sunset. Melaina lingers at the edge of a stone pit, staring absently at A’nala and Sethan’s bodies in the center. A blanket covers Sethan’s body, and A’nala is wrapped around him, her nose touching the tip of his head and tail curled around him in an everlasting sign of oneness.
Even in death, their bond is evident.
The torch in Melaina’s grasp flickers as she stands at the pit’s edge for a few still moments, tears slipping down her cheeks at a furious speed. Dipping her head, she tosses the torch out onto her father’s body.
This was what they wanted.
The old, ancient way of burials.
One by one, Daeja and the other dragons blow soft breaths of fire onto them, intensifying the flame until it drowns out the silhouettes of A’nala and Sethan.
The group of us circling around the pit watch the flames grow higher and higher until it reaches up for the heavens.
“To the skies…”I murmur, my head tilted back as I watch the smoke waft into the air.
“And the stars,”Daeja finishes sadly.
Archie leans his head into my shoulder, then wordlessly offers me a flask. I flick my gaze up to him and shake my head. Melaina stands to our left, her arms wrapped tightly around her chest as she stares up at the flames. Her eyes glisten, and her hair whips in the gentle breeze.
I squeeze Archie’s arm. “Go to her.”
He looks up at me, his eyes wide and sad. “I can’t.”
“Sheneedsyou,” I whisper, patting his cheek.
He bites his lip, then nods as if he was internally struggling with the decision and only needed one small push. But I don’t have long to watch the situation unfold because Darian slinks off between the flames, away from the group and into the darkness.
He’s avoided all eye contact with me since the battle. I haven’t even proposed to put his shackles back on. I’m not sure why—maybe because, for the first time, it seems like he’s finally come to terms with being on the right side of this war.
He saved Archie. He came back forhim.
And yet…something doesn’t feel right.
I dip my head in respect to Sethan and A’nala and leave behind the warmth and light of the fire to slip into the brisk cold air of the winter night.Maybe he’s injured and didn’t want to admit it. He can’t possibly be…upset? That he killed someone?
As I stride farther away from the bonfire, he’s nowhere to be found, and I’m starting to wonder if he actually ran away this time. Until I catch a glimpse of someone sitting on the edge of the cliffside overlooking the river and distant Serahaven mountain range hiding Vitalis. Throwing a glance over my shoulder, debating if I should go back to the fire and leave him alone, I decide against it and walk toward him. The wind picks up and ruffles my hair, the cold air kissing my skin and sending ashiver down my spine. I pull my cloak tight across my frame, my body tensing as I stop a few steps away from him.
He has his legs dangling over the side of the cliff, which drops hundreds of feet to the ground below. The sliver of moon hanging in the sky is barely enough for me to see his outline against the explosion of stars and brilliant darkness in front of us.
