Chapter 42
DAHLIA
Tamryn refused to attend her mother’s funeral.
The whole castle was there – even my sisters and Kasimir stayed to pay their respects.
Black vines and small glowing lanterns filled the garden where her headstone had been placed, and not a single demon failed to stop by to dip their heads or leave a candle or a wreath of blushmoons for their lord’s fallen sister. All of them except for Tamryn.
Instead, she spent the past two days since we returned from Elheart’s palace painting in her bedchamber and visiting her father.
Tauren hasn’t complained, though. We all grieve in our own ways. Tamryn would’ve known about her mother’s death since it happened which, according to Elheart, happened just over a year ago. Perhaps she doesn’t wish to reopen old wounds. I know I wouldn’t.
So when I pass Maeve’s grave the following moonrise, I’m surprised to see Tamryn perched on a bench with a sketchpad in her lap – until I see the barn owl preening its feathers on top of Maeve’s headstone.
As I approach, I see she’s sketching the bird with a soft smile on her face. Owls seem to be a bit of a fascination for her. Most of her art includes one in some form or another. Tauren said they were Maeve’s favourite animal. I wonder if it’s her way of still feeling connected to her mother.
“Tamryn?” I speak quietly to not startle her.
She turns, lowering her pencil to smile at me. It’s then I notice she’s not alone. Tauren and Claren are sitting on the grass by the grave, leaning against a tree.
I pause, not wanting to intrude, but Tauren notices me.
“Come,” he calls out in a smooth voice. “Sit with us.”
I pad towards him, trying my hardest not to spook the owl. The creature just watches me before going back to preening its dappled feathers.
“It’s been here since before we arrived,” Tauren explains. I try to sit beside him, but he pulls me into his lap, curling his arms around my waist. “It’s like it knows Maeve would’ve been happy to see it.”
I lean into him, stroking his chest. He’s been oddly calm since returning to the castle, Claren too. I suspect her death hasn’t hit them yet. She’s been gone for fifteen years already, after all.
“It’s like nothing’s changed,” Claren murmurs. “I keep thinking she’s still out there somewhere.”
Tauren pats his brother’s arm. “She’s still our sister. That will never change.” He kisses the top of my head, inhaling into my hair. “I wish you could have met her,” he says to me. “She would’ve loved you.”
“Even after I ruined our wedding?” I smile at him.
“She would’ve helped you make it worse for me,” he chuckles as Claren laughs with him.
I let the silence settle over us before I speak again. “Ami told me she interrogated Elheart some more with Kasimir. They managed to get the whole story out of him. The truth,” I say as Tauren tenses beneath me. “Would you like to hear it?”
Both he and Claren nod, watching me expectantly.
“Your sister and Elheart had a good marriage until he lost his soul. Even after he never hurt her physically until the night she… passed.” I choose my next words carefully.
“He said he attacked her because she was planning on leaving him. She wanted to bring down the barrier, take Tamryn, and return home to you and Claren. But he intercepted her letter to you before she could leave. Then they argued and—” I stop myself.
They don’t need to hear the rest. “I just thought you’d want to know that she was happy until Tamryn got sick. She didn’t suffer.”
Tauren nods, stroking my hair. “Thank you for telling us. That means a lot.”
Claren hugs his knees to his chest. “I never thought he’d be capable of that, but people change after losing their souls. It’s a fate worse than death.”
“That’s why it’s banned.” Tauren scowls. “Demons do not need the power eating souls gives us. Though I understand why my sister did it.” He looks at Tamryn sadly. “Sometimes the world is so cruel, the only way to survive it is to become worse.”
I glance at the drawing girl, my brows dipping. Then my gaze slides to the owl still perched on Maeve’s headstone. My brows draw together. “Hey… I’ve seen that owl before.”
“Owls are common around my court.” Tauren shrugs. “There are hundreds of them here. They’re creatures of the night like us.”
“No. I’ve seen that owl before. I’m sure of it.” Sliding off his lap, I stand up, padding towards the animal. “You’re the owl I saw flying during the day at Elheart’s palace.”
The bird looks at me.
“Most owls are nocturnal,” Claren points out. “If you saw anything around his palace, it was probably a pigeon.”
“It wasn’t a pigeon.” I frown. Then my lips part. “I saw it before that too, in the woods!” My eyes widen at the owl. “You squawked at me before I went into the wolf’s den. You were trying to warn me, weren’t you?” I remember its dappled feathers, the way it made me drop all my firewood.
“Dahlia, come back and sit with us,” Tauren says. “Tamryn hasn’t finished her drawing yet. You’ll spook the creature.” But Tamryn’s already dropping her sketchpad, moving to my side to take my hand.
She nods at me, pointing at the bird.
“You know this owl?” I ask her.
She nods harder.
“Is it yours?” A pet, maybe. Perhaps it belonged to Maeve.
Tamryn frowns, pointing at her mother’s grave.
“It was Maeve’s pet.” I gasp, piecing it all together.
But Tamryn just shakes her head, jabbing her finger at the grave.
“I’m sorry.” I wince. “I don’t understand.”
Tauren pushes up from the grass to join us, while Tamryn pokes the grave insistently. The owl just stares at us, as if it’s waiting for us to figure it out.
“Did the owl belong to Elheart?” Tauren asks in a low voice.
Tamryn exhales, frustrated. I’m about to ask if the owl belonged to anybody at all when Tamryn does something that surprises us all.
“Ma…ma…”
I gasp, taking both her hands.
“She spoke!” Claren hurries over to us. “Tamryn, can you say that again for us?”
Her gaze darts between us, her lower lip trembling, before she turns back to the owl. “Mama.” She points at it.
“So it was Maeve’s pet?” Tauren reasons.
Tamryn shouts, “Ma! Ma!” Her fists clench in frustration.
“Let’s take a break.” Claren tries to guide her back to her sketchpad, but Tamryn is too furious to move. She points over and over again at the owl, just repeating the word while the owl stares at us with beady black eyes, darker than a moonless night—
My lips part. I glance between them. Tauren. Claren. Tamryn. The owl. They all have the same eyes.
“Wait!” This is insane. There’s no way this is how demon magic works. Then again, I watched a fully grown man get dragged away by a horde of rats the other day, so I suppose anything is possible. “Could Maeve have transformed into an owl?”
“What?” Claren mutters.
Tamryn nods, tugging on my arm. “Mama!” she exclaims. “Mama!”
“Tamryn, is this owl your mother?” I ask, my heart pounding against my ribs.
Tamryn nods again, grinning.
“It’s not possible.” Tauren shakes his head. “To have that much power, she’d have to have eaten several souls.”
“What about one that loved her?” I think back to Navir in the woods, how he complained about Lady Urma’s soul barely having enough power for him to kidnap me. “Love is powerful, isn’t it?”
“She would’ve used that power to save Tamryn. Elheart said she was very sick,” Claren argues.
“But what if she wasn’t!” I throw my hands down. “Elheart said the healers didn’t see a point in treating her if she couldn’t talk.”
“Bastards,” Tauren snarls. He scrubs his hand over his jaw. “This is so unlikely, and yet I want it so badly to be true, I’m willing to try anyway.”
Claren shakes his head. “She’d need enough power, and the animal would’ve had to have been willing to put its soul into her dying body.”
“Maeve was so kind. I’ve no doubt there would’ve been a queue of willing animals,” Tauren huffs out.
I take his hand, hope fluttering in my chest. “Can you use your magic to change her back?”
His jaw clenches. “I can revert a soul back to its true form, but this is not my usual form of magic. I’ve not practised this since my school years.”
“I can do it,” Claren says. “I’ve done nothing but practise for the last decade. All the classes you enrolled me in made sure of that.” He smirks at Tauren, who averts his gaze guiltily. “Now watch and learn, brother.”
I step back from the grave, clutching Tauren’s arm as Claren steps forward. The owl ruffles its feathers, like it’s preparing itself.
“Please work,” I whisper into Tauren’s sleeve. My mind whirs with rapid thoughts. The more I think about it, the more I remember. The woods. Maeve’s first drawing. Even on my first night at the castle, she was there, swooping above the balcony.
Claren mutters something under his breath, concentration pulling at his features, until he tenses, letting out a ragged breath.
My heart sinks. The owl is still just an owl.
I bury my face in Tauren’s sleeve, holding back tears. But then I hear a noise like a burst of stardust.
Tauren’s arms tense, and a choking gasp rocks through him. “Maeve?” he blurts.
I look up. A beautiful woman sits on the headstone, her features a perfect blend of the two demons beside me and the half-demon girl hugging her tightly.
She tilts her head, her two black bull horns sitting on top of a waterfall of blonde curls. “You were right.” She glances at Tauren before her gaze lands on me. A kind smile lights up her face, and I know right away we’re going to be tighter than sisters. “I do love her.”