Page 26 of Mother of Death and Dawn

This was a different man. His eyes were a bit larger, features sharper, and his hair shorter, skimming his shoulders. And one of his wings—silvery-gold—was hacked off at the joint, leaving a ragged edge.

Still, I stiffened, and out of the corner of my eye I noticed Caduan flick a vigilant glance to me.

The man approached, a lopsided smile at his lips. It struck me as a deeply unhappy expression.

“Apparently I’m late. I apologize if I missed the message.”

“You don’t need to be here, Meajqa,” Caduan said.

“I’m your second. I should be here.”

Meajqa stood beside the table, and the smile faded as he watched the man writhe.

“It was cruel to keep him alive long enough to bring him back,” he said, quietly, as if to himself.

“It was their duty to see if he could be saved,” Luia replied, but the healer gave her a pitying look.

Even I knew it. There was no saving this person. His soul stank of rot.

Caduan leaned over the man.

“Look at me, friend.”

The man’s eyes opened slowly, as if he had to fight for it.

“Ela’Dar is deeply in your debt,” Caduan said. “I will never forget the contributions that you have made to our home. Our people are safer because of you. Do you understand?”

The man nodded, a minuscule movement.

Caduan’s voice was firm, gentle. “You are going to die. But do not fear death. Death is a door, and though none of us can follow you through it today, you will cross its threshold knowing that the mark you have left behind will be a worthy one. This is not an end.”

The man’s trembling had subsided. Even the agony that I had sensed in the world beneath seemed to still, as if soothed by Caduan’s words.

“Do not be afraid,” Caduan said, again, quietly.

The man swallowed. Nodded. Tears rolled down bloodstained cheeks.

“Are you prepared?”

Again, the man nodded.

Caduan bowed his head. “Thank you.” He brought his hands to the man’s temples.

The man’s body jolted violently, and his limbs suddenly went slack.

Meajqa turned away.

Several seconds of silence passed. Caduan straightened. He did not look away from the corpse on the table, and he did not wipe the blood off his fingertips.

“Make sure his family are provided for. Tell them that he was killed in battle. There’s no benefit in them knowing how he suffered.”

“Perhaps the people of Ela’Dar should know,” Luia said. “If they truly understand what the humans are capable of, they’ll be clamoring to take up arms against them.”

“The last thing we need is for individuals to make rash, stupid mistakes out of anger.”

“She will not stop doing this, Caduan. She will not stop taking Fey from our southern reaches. And the rest of her people are no better. Humans have done nothing but destroy. Even the Threllians do such horrific things to their own. Yet we just lie here in bed with snakes. With every passing day, that bitch gets closer to doing something that could be catastrophic to all of us. What happens whenthisno longer fails?”

She thrust her palm to the table. Already, the corpse looked… odd, formless, like it was beginning to break down.

---