Queen (Sterling Falls Book 4) by S. Massery

Author:S. Massery [Massery, S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-09-19T18:30:00+00:00

THIRTY

jace

I hold the umbrella over Kora’s head as we file up the paved sidewalk. She keeps her arm looped through mine, huddled close to avoid the rain.

The weather is sharing in our misery today.

Lightning streaks across the sky, and thunder booms a second later.

Wolfe follows behind us with his own umbrella. Ahead are Apollo and Artemis, then Antonio and his wife, Vittoria. And in front of them strides Saint.

Unlike the rest of us, he doesn’t carry an umbrella. His black suit jacket is soaked, his white shirt sticking to his chest. His short hair is plastered to his face, but he doesn’t make any move to wipe it away. I watch him through the shifting bodies, tempted to tow Kora around and catch up to him.

But he’s walking fast for a reason, and I have to say… I don’t think I’d be acting any differently if Kora was taken from me. So I keep my eye on him from a distance.

Finally, we reach the mausoleum.

Nyx chose to be cremated, but her grandparents had purchased a large family slot in the mausoleum. A black plaque with Nyx’s name has been hung on the marble beside theirs. It’s on the outer wall, but there’s a covered walkway that circles the building. It lends some cover for visitors, although Saint stops just shy of it.

There are flowers at the base of their section, a little stand with her name on it. Elora Whitlock.

Saint wasn’t able to give her his last name. Hart. And that hurts worse than anything else. The fact that she’ll never take his surname, never walk down the aisle toward him, or sign her name on a marriage certificate.

I swallow sharply, and Kora glances up at me.

The urn is back at Antonio’s house. He pointed it out when we arrived this morning, placed on the mantel over the fireplace in the living room.

It’s been a long day, and it’s not over yet.

Saint wouldn’t leave his room. Sat on the floor under the window and stared into nothing, his pressed shirt and suit laid out on the bed. A bed which was freshly made, so neat it didn’t even look like he had slept on it.

When asked, he revealed that he didn’t sleep on it.

Ever.

Wolfe and Apollo got him up and dressed while I supervised. It’s been a week since Wolfe rejoined us at the house. A blissful, fast-paced week. It seemed to come and go faster than any other week in my life.

I got to see Kora breathe the life back into Wolfe.

We reconnected as friends, finally back on solid footing.

But in Antonio’s house, Saint was suffering.

And the guilt hits me again, drilling into my chest. I should’ve kept Nyx and Saint as far from Kronos as possible, and I should’ve been there for Saint after. Should’ve spared Saint the sight of seeing Nyx dead…

I visit that night in my head over and over again, replaying it. Trying to make it happen differently. And each time, someone else dies. Sometimes it’s Kora.

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