52. Ashes
A eden arrived at the hatchery to find it unnaturally still.
There wasn’t the usual hustle and bustle he had become accustomed to.
It was quiet – far quieter than the hatchery had ever been, or at least as Aeden had ever seen.
He glanced inside the main barn to find Nyra’s pen empty, though her gate was open.
The whelping pen was also vacant, with only the final empty shelves of the newly hatched eggs remaining.
Curious as to where Nyra was, Aeden followed the path outside around to the large open field, where he imagined the rest of the remaining Aer-Kin were.
He had no idea what to expect when he got there, and part of him dreaded what he was walking into.
As he approached and entered the field, he could see Lyric, stood in solitude by a small pyre.
He was tending to what Aeden assumed was Bertha’s body, judging by the cloth-covered figure resting on top of the pyre in front of him.
Speckles of blood seeped through the white cloth.
Nyra was also in the field. She wasn’t facing Lyric.
Her focus was on the rest of the hatchlings, as if watching over them.
Her expression was serious, as though she didn’t want to be there but knew she had to be.
Pretty much all of the Aer-Kin were on the far side of the field, drinking from the troughs.
They did like their milk, and today was no exception, as they all playfully fought one another to get a drink – as if nothing had happened, as if none of them had even noticed that Bertha was dead.
That was, except for Midnight, who sat on the opposite side, in the shadows of Lyric’s workshop, which butted up against the outer edge of the field.
She was low, her features sloped, her wings wrapped around her, covering her body as if trying to hide from the world, her head bowed down.
She was almost unrecognisable against her usual playful demeanour, and that in itself broke Aeden’s heart.
He watched on for a few moments. He wanted to go over to Midnight, but at the same time, he wanted to respect that she might want to be alone.
He still didn’t know how she would react if he got too close, and there were things he’d like to keep, such as all his limbs.
“ Is everything okay? ” Aeden asked Nyra through the Weave.
Her gaze did not falter as she continued to watch the hatchlings.
“ They all seem okay ,” she said. “ But I thought I best help out given that Lyric is not himself .” She looked across at Midnight.
Aeden could feel a rush of sadness through the Weave.
“ The youngling is not eating or drinking ,” she said.
“ This is a concern, especially at this age. She needs to continue to feed, or she will lose weight and not grow as she should. This is something that Lyric would normally pick up on, but from what I can tell, he’s completely ignoring her.
Not just her, the others too. He put the milk out for them, but he didn’t speak to them like he usually does.
He didn’t laugh or pet them. He just did what he had to before leaving.
I don’t like it, Aeden. He’s not himself . ”
“ I’m sure he’ll appreciate you helping out, especially with him not needing to ask you ,” Aeden said. This wasn’t like Lyric at all.
“ Luckily, there are others that help out at the hatchery. Otherwise, I don’t know what the Aer-Kin would do. We need Lyric. We need him to be back to normal. Please fix him ,” she said.
If only it was that easy. If only Aeden could press a magic button and make all of these issues disappear.
If only his healing magic would allow him to bring Bertha back, to make Lyric feel like himself again.
That’s all he wanted in this moment. This whole situation was so fucked up, and Aeden hated it.
With a deep sigh, Aeden entered the field and walked over to Lyric, who continued to stand solemnly by Bertha’s consecrated body.
Aeden had never seen a pyre before. He knew Lyric did something with the bodies of hatchlings that didn’t make it, just like the one Aeden had seen hatch stillborn.
But that didn’t make seeing this setup any easier to process.
The ground was scorched, blackened from previous pyres that Lyric must have lit.
As he got closer, he could see the detail that Lyric had gone into to ensure that Bertha had a send-off that would rival most riders.
He was close enough now to see that Lyric wasn’t tending to Bertha’s body; he was tending to the wood and flowers bedded around her.
It was a pleasant, alluring smell, sweet with a hint of almonds.
Large purple flower heads were scattered around Bertha and on top of the cloth that draped over her body.
“Lyric?” Aeden said.
Lyric didn’t respond, placing the final two pieces of wood in his hand beside the dead Aer-Kin hatchling.
Aeden stood in silence, taking up position beside Lyric. Even if he didn’t want to speak, the best he could do was be here for him, as he was sure Nyra could be for him, if he needed her.
The two of them stood in stony silence, Lyric’s eyes unmoving as he watched over Bertha as if he expected her to sit up at any moment – as if this whole thing had been a silly game.
“ Aeden ,” Nyra said.
“ What is it, girl? ”
“ It’s the youngling. She’s right behind you .”
Aeden turned around, and his heart sank. Nyra was right. Midnight had crept up behind them, slowly and nervously, almost crawling along the ground like a snake.
This wasn’t good. What was she thinking?
Aeden took a step towards her, trying his hardest to shoo her away as quietly and delicately as he could. There was nothing he could do to stop Lyric from noticing her as he spun around to face her.
“Get out of here!” he snarled, anger in his eyes. His cheeks were red, his face blotched. “I don’t want to see you. I can’t stand to see you!” He smashed his hands together in a loud, thunderous clap. “Go on! Get out of here!” he roared.
Midnight let out a fearful cry before shooting backwards, spinning in a circle, and running off back towards the shadows of the workshop, where she cowered like a small child, shaking and fearful.
Aeden hated seeing Lyric like this. He hated that he was being so aggressive towards Midnight, and he hated to see Midnight so scared of him.
“Lyric, please,” Aeden said. “You need to stop.”
“Don’t defend her,” he said coldly. There was no expression in his voice. “There is no defending what she did.”
“She’s just a hatchling,” Aeden said. This didn’t feel right. He knew that Lyric didn’t speak like this.
“Do you think I don’t know that? Do you think I don’t realise that Orion was controlling her, that he made her kill Bertha?
” Lyric’s voice turned to a deep grumble.
“I feel like a monster. I realise I shouldn’t feel the way I feel.
Midnight is just as innocent in all of this – but that doesn’t mean I am able to forgive her.
That I can unsee what she did to . . .” His voice broke, pain etched into every fibre of his being as he stared at Bertha’s covered body.
“This is Orion’s doing, but that doesn’t make this any easier.
I understand exactly what happened. I can rationalise everything that happened.
But I cannot shake the feelings I know I harbour towards the Aer-Kin. ”
Lyric’s words cut like a knife. If he understood what happened – if he knew Orion was controlling Midnight and that she hadn’t acted of her own volition – then why was he treating her this way? Aeden could understand him being upset, but to actively treat Midnight like this? That was just wrong.
“Lyric, I don’t know what to say,” Aeden said, his mind drawing blanks.
“ Remember, you can’t fix everything ,” Nyra said, reaching out through the Weave .
It was the nudge he needed. Perhaps the situation didn’t call for conversation or words or for Lyric to be challenged on the matter. As far as Aeden could see, he still needed to process his grief. His destroyed soul was a by-product of what had happened.
So Aeden fell silent, not wanting to push any further than he already had. He turned to face Bertha’s covered body and instead took the opportunity for a moment of quiet reflection.
After a few moments, Lyric did the same, breathing in and out slowly as if trying his best to calm himself. At least his focus wasn’t on Midnight now, who was hopelessly isolated by the workshop.
“ Can you keep an eye on her through the Weave? ” Aeden asked.
“ Yes ,” Nyra replied. “ I’ll move closer to her and let her know that she isn’t on her own. I don’t like how isolated she is, and this isn’t a good sign from the other Aer-Kin. They may attack her.”
“ Thank you ,” Aeden said before focusing on Bertha once more.
“She was such a playful Aer-Kin. She didn’t deserve this,” Lyric said.
“She was the gentlest soul.” He lit a torch to his side, using some flint he pulled from his pocket.
The flames lit up his darkened eyes, magnifying the deep wrinkles on his face.
Taking hold of the torch, Lyric placed it down on the pyre, slowly, almost hesitantly.
“Goodbye, Bertha,” he said.
Flames engulfed the pyre as a boundary of fire surrounded her, licking up at the sheet covering her.
They quickly caught fire and vanished, whipping up a stream of dark smoke.
For the first time, Aeden could see Bertha.
She looked peaceful in the position Lyric had placed her, like she was sleeping.
“Rest well,” Aeden said. He thought for a moment about the life she could have had, the life she should have had, but that had all been taken away. For what?
It didn’t take long for Bertha to be completely engulfed in flames. Aeden had to take a step back from the heat it was kicking out. Lyric, however, remained still, and for a moment, Aeden worried he might jump into the pyre with the hatchling.
“I appreciate you being here, Aeden. I really do.”
“It was the least I could do,” Aeden said, taking another slight step back from the heat. He thought back to Bertha’s death. Was there anything he could have done differently? Should he have?
“I wish I could have done something to help,” Aeden finally said. He didn’t know what that help would’ve looked like, but his own guilt had started to manifest.
“Don’t be daft. There’s nothing you could have done to change that outcome,” Lyric said.
“That bastard came here to cause trouble, and that’s what he did.
He’s a Controller, you know. He can bend your free will.
I’d bet this hatchery on his power being Manipulate.
” He looked across at Aeden. “But you’d already figured that out, hadn’t you? ”
Aeden nodded as the two of them continued to pay their respects to Bertha.
“Do you know what it felt like? To be frozen, unable to move despite willing it more than anything in this world? I would have jumped between Bertha and Midnight. I would’ve let her tear me limb from limb,” he said.
“But he made sure I couldn’t. He didn’t even have to open his mouth.
It was an intense pressure in my head. Then the intrusive thoughts started to argue, telling me not to move from the spot.
I knew it was nonsense – I knew it wasn’t real – but it was as if my legs had become one with the earth, like I was a tree.
Completely unmovable. I wanted to help. I wanted to get to her.
But the more I thought about it, the harder it became to focus.
And now . . . now she’s gone. And there ain’t no magic in this world that will bring her back.
And Midnight . . .” Lyric glanced over his shoulder at the Aer-Kin once again.
“I know it isn’t her fault. Honestly, I do.
But all I can think about is Bertha’s final moments, and her ripping her throat out.
I can’t be around her, Aeden. I don’t trust myself around her. ”
Did Lyric really mean that? Was he capable of retaliation in such a way? Aeden found that hard to believe, but that didn’t make it cause him any less concern.
Smoke rose high into the air, and Aeden realised why Lyric had added so many flowers to the fire. It gave the smoke a strong floral smell, like burning grass, but perfumed. It was to mask the smell of burning flesh, and Aeden was grateful for that.
“What are you going to do about Midnight?” Aeden wondered if he needed to stay with her, to ensure Lyric didn’t do anything stupid while he wasn’t there.
“I don’t know. I’ll ask one of the hatchery hands to manage her for now. As I said, I can’t be around her right now. I can only hope, in time, that will change.”
“I hope it does too,” Aeden said. “The hatchery needs their master.”
As Aeden reflected on the events, he found himself simmering underneath the surface.
Much like Lyric, he wanted to retaliate, but not towards Midnight.
He knew exactly who he held responsible for all of this, and the fire in front of him had reignited that ever-burning flame within.
He would make Orion pay for this. For Bertha, for Lucien and anyone else who they had harmed in their time at the academy.
He couldn’t let him continue to manipulate everyone like he was doing.
He wondered for a moment what Harrison’s plan was, then his thoughts were interrupted by Nyra again.
“ You’re getting angry again, Aeden. Please, this isn’t the time ,” she said. This was more of a scolding than a request, Nyra herself getting frustrated at Aeden. It was the first time he had felt her feel this way, especially in a negative way towards him.
“ I’m trying ,” he said.
“ Try harder. Lyric needs you. So do the rest of us .”
It was enough to cause Aeden to stop ruminating. For now, at least. But sooner or later, Aeden felt like he was going to explode, and he worried for whoever it was that got in his way when he did.