Serena closed the door behind her and exhaled slowly. She couldn’t hold back the smile that formed on her face. She couldn’t believe she had really gone back for a hug.
"Heh," she laughed quietly, brushing her hair out of her face with both hands. Her cheeks were still warm from the embrace. She had gone back for a hug. That alone made her want to laugh again, to dance down the halls.
She stood tall, chin up, hands confidently on her hips like a heroine returning from a quest. The apple slipped from her grasp and rolled away with a soft thud against the wooden floor.
"Hey," she said playfully, trotting after it. She scooped it up, gave it a quick dust-off against her skirt. She skipped happily up the stairs, apple in tow.
In her room, Serena placed the apple on the desk and sat on it, sighing wistfully. She had all but forgotten about Annamarie. She gasped and shot up. Serena paced around before sinking into the bed. It would be okay. If Anna wanted to come back, then she would.
Her gaze came to rest on the hiding spot of the pendant. Her boots echoed in the room as she walked to the spot. She dropped to her knees and tapped on the floorboards, listening for the one that would sound hollow.
Serena pounded on the other end of the plank until it came loose. She then pulled the plank out. The silver chain met her gaze, and she frowned. It was time to lay it all to rest.
It swung back and forth before her face. She blew on it and got the last of the dust off the jewellery. Serena pressed it to her chest and sighed. Find the newest release on Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
"You were right, Cullen," she murmured to herself.
Seeing him in the Pool of Ollcot had been the final nail in the coffin. He was gone. He wouldn’t show up again when she was sick, wouldn’t barge into her room with soup and complaints.It felt like waiting for what would never come, a form of self-torture.
Serena pushed the plank back in place and hammered it in with her fist. She made her way to the kitchen and placed the necklace on the counter.
She gathered together wood and coal in her arms and stepped out back. Serena dumped them on the ground and returned with the necklace and a candle.
Moments later, flames licked upward, crackling and hungry. She stepped back as the fire came to life, wary of its reach as her hair danced in the breeze.
A blacksmith would have been a better fit for this, but she had to make do with what was around her. She snapped off the chains around the pendant and let them drop to the floor.
A step forward and she threw the pendant into the raging flames. She watched silently, then dropped to her knees. Serena stretched out her hand and lit the candle she held.
The sun was setting. Orange and blue hues mixed in the sky, creating a beautiful image. The clouds drifted slowly, as if they understood the plight of the woman staring into the flames.
A sweet melody filled the air. A low, breathy voice rang out. Serena had broken into a song her father had taught her. People in Crimsonclaw did not bury their dead. Instead, they burnt the bodies to free their spirits to the Abode, to be with their goddess.
Her voice wavered, and tears streaked down her face. She closed her eyes and held the candle tightly. Wax dripped down her hands, but she continued singing.
"Lunara, light their path," she whispered.
The heat from the flames warmed her and sent her down memory lane. The first time she had run into him was one of those moments that sounded like it was pulled out of a fairytale, and it had felt like that.
A ram. Of all things, a ram. Charging like a beast possessed, knocking her square into a marble fountain. Water had flown everywhere. She remembered the shriek that tore from her throat, half in fear, half in outrage. And then- him. His laughter had come first, followed by his outstretched hand. A grin, wide and charming, like he couldn’t believe what had just happened either.
"Let their howl rise beside yours."
She had been hesitant about it. Her parents were not fated mates, they had fallen in love naturally. There had even been a boy, once, that she’d been promised to, nice enough, quiet, forgettable. But Cullen... Cullen felt like it was too good to be true.
He had shown up every day with a sunflower in hand and a terrible excuse for a compliment.
"They remind me of your hair. Soft. Golden. A bit wild in the wind."
She’d laughed in his face. She remembered that too.
Her fingernails dug deeper into the solid wax, the words leaving her lips slowly. "Guide them through the veil of night."
Serena avoided him for a while, until one day, he appeared at her doorstep with the prettiest deerskin she had ever laid eyes on. He just asked for a little bit of her time.
"...and let them run free beneath your stars."
The ceremony had been small but intimate. Her mother cried the whole way through, and Serena had never smiled so much in her life. Her father had already passed by then, but she swore she felt him near, if only in spirit.
"Until we meet in the moon’s embrace..." she murmured. The wax had softened in her hands, and she could feel the tingling of the little flame.
He had been her best friend, a kind man. He did his work diligently and never came home to her complaining.
Serena opened her eyes, reddened from her tears. She would have never imagined ever saying this prayer for Cullen.
"...go now, my heart, and rest."
The end of the prayer. Serena blew out the flame on the candle and lifted her eyes to the sky with a sad smile. He was free now, and so was she.
She looked down at the fire. It had mostly died out, leaving behind a blackened clump of melted metal and ash.
She sighed and put out the fire. He was free now, and so was she.