“You don’t understand,” I sobbed. “I’ve taken souls hundreds of times. But this was different. She was alive and vital and healthy. And worse, she would have just given it to me. I think that’s what she expected. She thought she was born to die for me. And I think she was right…which makes it even worse.”
I cried harder and Brennan stroked my back with strong hands, silently allowing me to cry all of my anguish out. It took awhile, but finally my sobs died off to sniffles and then tapered off completely. Stepping away from him, I wiped at my eyes and smoothed my hair.
“I’m sorry,” I told him. “I didn’t mean to fall apart on you. I have no right to be upset. Someone just sacrificed her life for me. If anyone should be upset, it should be Branwyn- wherever she is at right now. You must be growing so weary of hearing me cry about my wretched curse.”
Brennan smiled at me, a comforting and familiar sight. “Em, I’m here for you- no matter what you want to do with me. If you need to cry on me, so be it. You’re so strong that if you want to use my shoulder for that purpose, it’s almost an honor that you would trust me so much.”
I smiled weakly at him. “You always know what to say.”
He shrugged. “I try. Just remember that the next time I say something stupid. Em, whatever happened here today was not your fault. I hope you realize that. You’ve lived your life the best possible way that you could. Please don’t cry. You’re amazing. We’ll get this sorted out.”
He was so confident, so sure that I almost believed him. I knew that at the very least, we would give it everything we had. And that was all we could do.
“Thank you,” I murmured, standing up on my tip-toes to kiss his chiseled cheek. “I’m very blessed to have you.”
“I’ll remind you of that the next time I tick you off,” he said with a grin. He sobered up quickly though as he stared at the woman at our feet. “We should take Branwyn back to the village. We’ll need to bury her.”
I nodded. “I believe they build funeral pyres here. I don’t know what to tell them. I have no idea how much she told them… whether she shared her belief that she would die for me, whether she kept that to herself….” My voice trailed off and Brennan wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him, kissing my forehead.
“It will be fine,” he promised quietly. “We’ll just take their lead and roll with it.”
I nodded and he stepped away. Kneeling, he gently gathered Branwyn into his arms. I picked up her arms and crossed them over her chest as Brennan cradled her to his. Slowly, we made our way back into the village, stepping carefully through the brambles until we made it back to the trail.
No one said a word as we walked through the village. Each woman stopped what she was doing and stared with wide eyes as Brennan and I walked quietly through the center of the village and toward our hut. It was truly Branwyn’s hut and so it just seemed to be the place where we should take her. After one priestess collapsed into tears at the mere sight of us, I focused my attention on Branwyn’s dangling legs. Staring at her bare foot, I avoided the gazes of anyone watching us.
Entering our hut, Brennan carried Branwyn straight to our bed. He laid her down gently and I arranged her dress.
“Thank you,” I murmured to him. He stood to the side and I found Branwyn’s comb. As gently as I could, I ran it through her long, red locks. Her skin was even paler in death and she seemed as white as snow.
The door to the hut opened and without even looking, I knew who it was. The air itself changed as the old witch entered.
“We won another challenge,” I told Circes.
“I know, child,” she answered. Crossing the room to stand at my side, she laid dried herbs around Branwyn, forming a protective circle. I was silently appreciative. Branwyn would have liked that. The druids felt that circles were sacred.
“You knew, didn’t you?” I asked, not looking at her face. “You knew that I would kill her.”
“Yes.”
There was no apology, no explanation. I glanced at her and found her cloudy eyes fixed on me, waiting for my reaction. I decided not to give her one and instead returned my attention to readying Branwyn for burial. Circes handed me a bowl of water and I sponged off Branwyn’s arms and face.
“She didn’t deserve this,” I said, to no one in particular.
“No, she didn’t,” Brennan agreed.
Circes said nothing… because there wasn’t anything else to say.
“I told you that you must be on your guard,” Circes creaked a few moments later as she held Branwyn’s arm up for me to wash beneath it. “I warned you, Empusa. As you can see now, I was right. Never let your guard down.”
“Lesson learned,” I said calmly. “Do you know what the next challenge will be?”
Circes shook her ancient head. “No. I know not whether it will be announced or if it will be unexpected again.”
“I’m not that fond of surprises,” I said off-handedly. Not that it mattered. I knew that Zeus was going to do whatever he felt like doing. My opinion certainly wouldn’t be considered.
Chapter Eleven
Branwyn burned on a pyre that lit up the night.
My half-sister lay in the middle of a sacred circle in the center of the stone altar. The priestesses murmured prayers and chants to my mother as they offered Branwyn’s soul to the gods. What they didn’t know was that Branwyn’s soul had already been taken…by me.
We had spent the day solemnly, in silent reverence, as each priestess had come to pay their respects to Branwyn. Each one offered her something, a trinket, a ring, a smattering of herbs. Each one had cried, each one had hugged her, each one had grieved. I had sat stoically, trying not to reveal my own sadness and despair at what I had done. But with each minute that had passed, my guilt grew.
“Are you alright?” Brennan whispered as he grasped my hand. I knew he could feel my pain, my grief. His fingers were warm and strong. For a moment, they reached the icy depths of my heart, but then fell away. I didn’t want to be reached.