Jaden's Heart by Jackson Melanie

Author:Jackson, Melanie [Jackson, Melanie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2015-12-18T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

NINETEEN

We Assembled behind Lord François's estate on the frozen lawn as four masked guards carried Ivy's simple oak casket to the large pyre.

I stood with Desiree, James and Maxwell, all of us in dark clothing. My mind was blank as the box passed me.

At human funerals, there were sounds—muffled sounds, but sounds nonetheless: voices, sniffs, coughs, sobs, the ruffle of tissues. Here there was nothing, not even the soft sound of people breathing.

Ivy deserved tears.

I felt the sharp sting of sadness within me just as a human would feel such a thing, yet no tears would ever come. I wished to give her this simple gesture of love and respect but like the others, like the earth beneath my feet, I was frozen. Despite the absence of physical emotion, the weight of unseen tears made the air thick as snow began to fall around us. The guards placed the casket onto the pyre.

Lady Marianna stood in front of the pyre, in a simple black dress, hands folded in front of her. "Ivy," she started, her voice cracking. "Ivy was more than a hero, council member, teacher, lover, or friend. Those who died by Ivy's side were more than her students; they were our sisters and brothers. And we are less without them." Her hands trembled.

Lord Kayne stepped beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder his gray eyes kind. "Ivy protected our world. Never once did she flinch at her duty to her people. None among us know the toil her visions had upon her. Ivy sacrificed herself physically, emotionally and mentally for us—for her people. Her sacrifice is something we can never repay but one we are eternally grateful for. May Ivy and all the members of the Seventh find peace in the next life." His deep voice carried easily across the open space.

The council members each took a burning torch and in unison, they ignited the pyre. For a brief moment, no one moved. Then, slowly, the crowd thinned until I stood alone in front of the burning pyre. Wisps of smoke rose into the starless sky. I moved to stand closer, so close I could feel the flames searing the light hairs on my arms.

"I think Ivy would have approved of the ceremony," Prince Arron said from behind me. "After my wife's funeral, she told me she only wanted a simple, romantic ceremony. We tried to follow her wishes as best we could." He moved to stand beside me.

I had no words for him as I stared into the bright flames. Part of me could not believe she was gone. We stood in silence, two shadowed figures, as snow fell in slow large flakes around us and what was left of our friend rose in black smoke, disappearing into the night sky.

The after ceremony was not silent and gloomy. Everyone stood in groups reminiscing about Ivy and the Seventh as soft music played. I stood in a corner of the ballroom trying to be invisible, praying I would be ignored.

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