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Once the doctor had declared Leif dead, they gathered up his body and the body of the sea monster’s other victims. Some people were still considered missing as they had not found their bodies yet, but Sorin could see that no one held any hope of their recovery. The festival had been shut down the following day and funerals had been planned in haste.
The next afternoon, Shaye and Sorin accompanied a grief-stricken Brina to the home of Leif’s family. His mother and sisters were dressed for mourning, with black lace and veils covering their faces. Leif’s father, a gentle man with a quiet demeanor, was accepting condolences in the hall as people filed in one by one to pay their respects.
Sorin felt out of place here; these people had known Leif since he was a babe. There was a strong sense of community, and he envied the warmth with which they talked to one another. He stood quietly in the corner of the small townhome, unsure of what he could do to help this heartbroken family.
Shaye had not asked him to come, but she also had not protested when he showed up at her doorstep to escort her to the funeral. When he offered his arm to her she had taken it, holding onto it tightly as they made their way through town. The ceremony had been nice enough, sending Leif off to The Mother from whom they all came before birth. His sisters had thrown petals in his wake as men from town carried his shrouded body, placing it gently on the funeral pyre. His father set fire to it while a local priestess honored Leif with the ancient rites. She stood near the pyre in a simple white gown, calling on the Fates to carry Leif’s spirit through the smoke and to the paradise which lays beyond life.
Sorin had desperately wanted to reach for Shaye’s hand while silent tears streamed down her face, but he had resisted. She had done her best all day to stay strong for her friend, who was grieving the hardest. It had turned out that the scene Sorin had witnessed at the festival was the moment Leif had asked for her hand in marriage. He had given her the flower with a ring tied to it. She had said yes, and they had gone down to the docks for privacy while they celebrated. Brina blamed herself for the loss of her love, but Sorin knew it was his fault. It was his fault for not taking the reports more seriously, for not putting a defense on their shores sooner.
Shaye wandered through the people crowded inside the modest home and to his side, handing him a plate of food. Her eyes were red around the edges, but she was holding herself together. Sorin wished he could tell her that it was okay for her to be sad, that she did not have to try to hide her feelings around him or anyone else. But he held his tongue, accepting the heaping pile of food.
“Thank you. You didn’t have to go through the trouble.”
“Well, if you’re going to hide in the corner all day, then you should at least eat. It would be embarrassing if you passed out in front of the whole town.” She joked, but the laughter was gone from her voice. She just sounded tired.
“Did you sleep at all?”
“Not much.” She hesitated before she admitted, “I have trouble sleeping most nights. Last night’s events stirred up some old memories that I couldn’t shake.” She added unconvincingly, “I’ll be fine.”
“I’m trying to make up for it, you know.”
Shaye looked at him, puzzled. “Make up for what exactly?”
“My father’s sins. Those are the memories you are referring to, are they not?”
At that, she simply nodded. It looked as if she was about to say something when a commotion came from the hall. They could hear shouting as the funeral guests crowded around the foyer. Sorin pushed through the crowd, Shaye trailing closely behind him.
One of the men from town was shouting at a small woman who had walked in alone. “You have no business being here, Witch.”
“I’ve only come to pay my respects.” The woman was around his mother’s age, with the tanned skin of someone who spent their days outside. “Liza, you know me, I only want to pay my respects to you and your boy.” The woman extended a hand to Leif’s mother, Liza, who stood wide eyed, seemingly unsure of what to do or say.
Sorin reached out a hand to stop Shaye from getting involved, but he was not fast enough. Shaye was between the woman and the man blocking the Witch’s path into the house in a matter of seconds. She too was Magi, and he worried they would turn on her if she got in the middle of the disagreement.
Another woman chimed in, “Magi are not welcome here. Look at what magic does.” She pointed to Leif’s family.
More people joined in, telling the woman to leave. The situation was getting ugly, and it was happening extremely fast. Shaye went to the Magi woman and whisper something in her ear. The woman nodded, wiping tears from her eyes. She patted Shaye on the hand, giving her a small, sad smile. Before she turned to leave, she looked at Leif’s mother and held a hand to her heart. Then she was gone.
Shaye looked hurt and exhausted; Sorin was not sure what she had said to the woman, but it had worked to deescalate the situation. Sorin was shaken by the scene he had witnessed; he had not expected things to turn so quickly. He could see that the people of Asterion needed someone to blame for the tragedy they had witnessed. Fear was a dangerous thing, more dangerous than any magical monster. If they believed the Magi in town held any bit of responsibility for what was happening, then things were about to get incredibly bad.
They stayed throughout the day, saying their goodbyes at nightfall. Sorin walked Brina and Shaye back to the inn. He lingered on the porch while Shaye went in to see Brina off to bed. Sorin waited with a potent glass of wine that Rolland had brought him. He was alone on the porch of the Brass Blossom, watching townspeople heading home for the night. Some spoke of the tragedy on the docks, others were too drunk to talk at all.
A soft sea breeze blew at his hair, and he closed his eyes, taking it in. Aramoor was his favorite city in all of Asterion. The architecture throughout the city was astounding and ahead of its time. Colorful townhomes stood tall, lining the clean cobblestone streets. Trade had been doing well before the blight and the Guilds did well to distribute that wealth throughout Aramoor. They took care of schools for young children as well as trade schools for anyone looking to join the Guilds as an apprentice. Sorin had often thought how he would have liked to have been a fisherman, if he had been born into another life.
His mother had taken him into the city often, even well after his family had taken the throne. She had wanted him to know the people, to know what they liked and what they needed in life. “It is the key to a successful Asterion,” she had said to him. Sorin knew she was right, but he had often wondered about the Magi in Asterion. Who was looking out for their needs? Of course, they were offered a place in the new world, but were they genuinely happy? Sorin thought of Shaye and how her hands had shaken when he had first arrived. He wondered what would make her happy. The thought surprised him, and he opened his eyes.
Shaye came out and leaned against the side of the building, arms crossed in front of her. Her hair was a wild mess of tangles, and she still wore the black dress she had borrowed from Brina. Sorin offered her the jacket that Rolland had lent him, but she politely refused.
“I know you don’t want to hear this, but time isn’t on our side Shaye, so I have to ask... Do you see now? This threat is real, and we need your help. Even if there is only the slightest chance that you are indeed capable of what we hope, it is worth trying. What happened down at the docks is only the beginning.” He shivered, the night air was cool on his skin and the sight of Leif laying on the ground in a pool of blood clouded his memory.
After Leif’s death, most of the townspeople had cleared out by the time Sorin had left the docks. He had sent a guard to the palace with a signed account of the night’s events, ordering General Tyrell to post troops along the harbour. It was their best defense right now.
Shaye hung her head and furrowed her brow. “I know helping is the right thing to do. But I cannot forget, nor can I forgive, the past.” When she looked back up at him, he felt the fire of her words. He understood her position, and did not judge her for it, but it did not change the fact that he needed her.
“I can see that you struggle with your past. Your family lost everything that night, but you have a family here and now; a human family that does not stand a chance against the creatures reaching our shore. Even with the guards I have ordered here, it may not be enough. Wouldn’t you do anything to protect them?”
“Of course I would. I would go to the ends of the world.”
“Then do just that. Go north with me. Trouble has arrived in your backyard; this is not something we can dismiss as rumor anymore. This time it was Leif, next it could be Brina. Help your family by helping me.” As much as he knew they both wanted to turn away from the responsibility, he was speaking the truth.
Shaye stood tall and faced him. She looked as fierce as any knight he had ever seen. There was not one ounce of weakness in her voice when she said, “Tell me what I have to do.”