Page 113 of Summer of Sacrifice
Seleste turned back just in time to see the resignation on Emile’s face and the gaping gash in his chest, where Chresedia’s magical blow had landed before the cliffside broke free and crashed into the sea with him on it.
Anne wailed, screaming and kicking against Laurent as he hugged her to his chest, covering her ears.
When the cliff hit the sea, the force reverberated up through their feet.
Chapter
Twenty
SELESTE
“Has she eaten?” Aggie asked, shutting the door to Seleste’s bedchamber. Anne was curled up in the bed and Augustus stood sentry at the foot.
Seleste shook her head. It had been madness from the moment Chresedia’s minions and their beasts arrived.
Aggie and Grimm returned to chaos and had spent the evening of their return with Grimm roaring through the castle alongside Gaius and Laurent, doling out orders to check for anyone harmed and to search the entire city for anyone associated with Chresedia.
Aggie, on the other hand, hadn’t left her Sisters’ nor Anne’s side. “If only I’d been here.”
Finally, the dam broke. Aggie melted into tears, and Seleste rushed for her as Sorscha pulled her onto her lap, and Winnie went for a glass of water.
“If you’d been here,” Winnie said gently, “then what? You can’t save everyone, Sister.”
This only sent Aggie into more sobs, snuggling Mabon to her chest. The little bat had flown in the window only moments after Aggie’s return.
Sorscha and Winnie traded looks with Seleste, all of them thinking the same thing. Itching to know what she and Grimm had learned.
But it felt crass to address anything with Emile’s broken body beneath the castle.
Anne had screamed and screamed, the memory of the sound still coating Seleste’s ears. Screamed for Laurent to go get him, go get him. But being the man that he is, Laurent had already been on his way. Solemnly, he’d lept from the broken cliff while Seleste comforted Anne. Floating up a few moments later, Emile’s lifeless form was wrapped in his magic.
Since then, Anne had been inconsolable.
A debt repaid, Sorscha had muttered at one point, and Dulci had slapped her.
Sorscha wasn’t entirely wrong, but neither was Dulci. Anne and Emile’s relationship had been fraught and complicated. But it was no one’s choice but Anne’s how she grieved the man’s death.
They were all sitting in Seleste’s rooms sniffling when Aggie and Grimm arrived.
They had their own things to share with Aggie, namely their mother’s sacrifice and the eclipse destination, but no one could do more than stare at their hands. Chresedia had fractured them. Again.
“How long were we gone?” Aggie finally asked, wiping her sleeve across her face.
“Nearly a moon,” Seleste answered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
She squeezed her eyes shut, more tears leaking. “We need to get moving. That means the eclipse is, what? Less than a fortnight away?”
Winnie nodded. “We all want to mourn Emile, Aggie, but there is much we need to discuss.”
Seleste watched as Aggie set her face like flint, pushed her shoulders back, and took a deep, settling breath. She gave Mabon a little peck on the head and stood, the bat falling into flight to go hang from the rafters.
“You’re right. Emile would hate a fuss over him.” She took a sip of water, then went to the sideboard and poured herself something stronger. “We need everyone for most of what needs to be discussed, but there is one thing that is only for the four of us and Grimm.” Aggie held out her hand, all four of their mother’s journals appearing there, stacked in her palm. “These—” Her voice cracked. “These can summon the first Sisters.” She swallowed, hard. “My daughters. One time.”
“Holy gods.” Sorscha covered her face with her hands. “I don’t think I can handle that.”
Winnie blinked rapidly, shaking her head. “No. I cannot either. I— Not right now.”
Seleste disagreed. She wanted to see them, face to face, immediately. Her heart surged at the thought. But if they weren’t all ready, they would wait. Grimm would need to be present as well to see his daughters. “Then, I say we wait,” she said. “We must get on the road as soon as possible, but it will be many days of travel. We prepare ourselves along the way.”
