Chapter One
The day she died marked the day I died as well. I knew that, as the horse-drawn hearse guided the procession to the royal mausoleum, carrying the lead-lined coffin draped in gold satin. I knew that, as I kept a hand on the backs of each of her children, my niece and nephew, their heads bowed in despair over the loss of their mother. And I knew that, as we continued to walk through the cobblestone roads of Thanases, not even her birthplace, and my so-called brother-in-law sat in his stone castle with his stone-cold heart with no ounce of remorse given to the one who continued his dynasty.
As we turned down another road, it felt as though the sky closed up and poured out the tears that I refused to, at least not yet, and not in front of the children.
I peered up for a moment, soaking in the dreary atmosphere, my hair that matched the golden hues of hers now sticking in darkened clumps against my forehead.
All around us in the streets sounded whimpering, sniffling, and the occasional wail echoing as the people bid their farewells. And how I felt the anger boil from deep within my chest as they wept for a queen who gave everything for their prosperity and continuation.
Yes, my heart had darkened toward the people. Yes, my hatred for Marek grew with each passing step that I took behind her corpse and knowing that he was nowhere to be found. However, I couldn’t bring myself to harden my heart against them - her children.
At only ten-years-old, they still had so much growing up to do. Sweet and small Celina, who was a mirror of myself and Aurora, walked silently but her puffy red eyes and tear-stained cheeks screamed out her inner heartbreak. Her reaction left me some comfort. However, it was his, as I looked at my young nephew, that left me unsettled.
Elek, always the reserved one, kept his head down, his hair neatly tied back with not a single strand out of place, remained silent, and shed just as many tears as I had. It was boiling from within him though - the fury and resentment, as it came off him in waves and hugged him tightly. Even as the guards lifted the coffin to place it gently on a stone slab of the tomb, Elek’s expression did not melt.
An old, red-cloaked dragon, with long silvery whiskers, stood before the coffin and faced the procession. His arthritic hands pulled forth a scroll and a staff from within his robes before he began the prayer.
At least she will have the words of her people, I thought bitterly.
“Thanatos and Hypnos, please guide this child into Eternity, where age will not touch her, ailments will not harm her, and she will fly with the mighty wings you blessed her with at birth,” the man’s raspy voice prayed, shaking the staff occasionally in intricate patterns for the prayer.
Fly? When had she last flown? I wondered, blankly staring at the satin cloth. When did she last transform and feel the freedom that only the skies brought?
He never liked her beautiful rose-gold scales. He never liked how powerful she truly was. As soon as he had her, he clipped those Sun-envying wings by having her contribute to this country the only way she was allowed - by giving birth. A birth that would cement her suffering.
I hated him. I hated how he treated her, hated the way he spoke to her, hated how he viewed her children as pawns, and I hated even more that I couldn’t just kill him myself.
“Auncle Huri,” a meek voice pulled me up from my darkness.
Celina’s golden eyes had only become more puffy as the prayer went on. Leaning down, I reached into a pocket for a handkerchief and wiped her eyes before handing it to her in order to clean her nose. Lightly kissing her forehead, I rose to look my nephew in the eye.
Still not a single tear in those eyes. Only contempt. Was it reserved for me, his father, his mother? I couldn’t say for certain.
It wasn’t until the last mourner left the tomb that Elek finally spoke. His eyes, too much like his fathers, stared right into my own as he squared his small shoulders.
“You blame us, don’t you?” he asked, though there was no malice in his words. It seemed to be more out of curiosity.
“Why would I?”
“She died because she had us,” Elek stated as a matter of fact.
I shook my head in denial and before he pressed further and suggested that we travel to Hyperion to see the people my sister had loved so much. It was my hope that her children would still hold a piece of her if they understood our culture. On the way there, with Celina tucked safely in my arms and Elek close beside me, I allowed for the memories to flood in and begin to wreak havoc on my soul as I looked back upon my failures.
If only I was able to save her before it was too late...
