Goodbye

They were there in their thousands to farewell the King, and as Alina descended the stairs, she couldn't help but notice that there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Marcus helped her to the horse-drawn carriage that would take Alina to the family cemetery, and when the footmen signaled, the horses moved, trotting in unison as they began their brief journey to the Deveraux plot.

She felt cold, Calliope whined inside Alina's mind, wanting to be rid of the human skin and run alongside the carriage in her natural form, as the Queen's guard did, but she held onto her control knowing that this way was how the people expected her to arrive.

All too soon, they were there, and the Queen alighted from the carriage, taking Marcus's hand as he guided her down the pathway towards her father's final resting place. Lights flickered, leading the way down the cobblestone path, and as Alina looked to the end, she saw the six council members there, to bear witness to Elijah's final journey