New Delhi insisted on cremation of infected patrons.

Though the constitution of burial is gone in this world for a large part because of the death toll, it didn't seem fitting to stick Theron's body in a giant furnace and walk away like it nothing happened.

My ears have been ringing for two days straight.

Not the blurry sound someone processes through after an explosion, but the infernal flatline haunting me. The damned noise plagues me, ailing me worse and worse as Remi continues to ignore my existence in the flat.

Meika had been right when she'd told me I'd regret it, but it was his dying wish after all. Spare her the pain of his final moments, take him before an agonizing death did.

Her sobs bounced off the walls in the night, but all I could hear is the damn ringing.

The accommodations given to us were kind and not shabby. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen with working appliances, no matter how finicky or mediocre. A blessing to those without previous experience.

Meika and I had been sharing a bed while Dan and Remi picked their rooms. Soon enough, they would have the house to themselves while we went off to find Lindon anyway.

My feet knead into the carpet and flex outwards, feeling the soft, fraying fabric. An older, barely singed couch is beneath me, soft vinyl wearing in specific patches.

The crying had started up again about ten minutes ago, though muffled this time. Her face is likely buried into a pillow this time. We're in the home alone, with the other two running errands of their own. Food and supplies, clothing. Desperate things we needed and nothing we had the luxury of in months.

For me; years.

Daniel unlocks the door and walks in with a bunch of bags, nodding at me and setting them down on the counter top. "I found some food," he sighs, wiping sweat from his forehead.

He listens for a little bit longer before hearing the cries and wincing.

Going to shut the door, I watch as Daniel mechanically takes care of everything. The death weighs on him, I see it. But every time he comes close to feeling anything, the boy finds something else to busy himself with. This time it was going to the store, next will likely be showering again.

Some form of upkeep is generally the most useful.

The only good thing coming from it being his lack of anger towards me.

"Are you hungry?" I ask calmly, trying to keep my attention off of the broken-hearted girl's room.

He shakes his head and comes to sit beside me. "No, not really."

We don't say anything else for a while, looking around uncomfortably as the cries grow louder and louder. Remi is a literal sobbing mess. Every now and then, my brain considers the chance of her torturing me intentionally. Punishing me until I have the balls to do something about it.

Perhaps until I get angry enough to kill her.

That's how she thinks after all.

Meika comes home as well now, eight or nine bags bursting at the seams as they hand off her thin, muscular frame. Some are balanced under her chin while others are cutting off the blood flow in her arms.

"Need some help with that?" I smirk, a brow raising as the Fae woman wobbles in an attempt to shut the door.

Her face is deadpan as she glares at me.

"I don't see you doing any of the shopping," she mutters, nearly dropping one of the top bags, hooking two fingers through their handles.

Meika goes into the kitchen and tosses four of the sacks on the counter without a care, leaving a few more clearly stocked with clothing to be distributed between the four of us.

She puts one outside Remi's door, then two inside our room. Finally, she gently hands the last one to Daniel.

"It's all mainly leather," Meika scoffs, chuckling to herself darkly. "These people definitely know how to dress for the weather. Even with cotton undershirts and an assortment pants, nothing screams summer like the sticking sensation of sweat and leather."

Daniel nods his thank you and sets everything down by his feet without looking at it, the vacant stare growing again.

"Thank you, Miss Silverend."

Her lips curl in distaste, a low growl rumbling in her throat.

This catches Daniel's attention, his eyes flashing between us.

Meika straightens up and bows over, rolling her hand out on her wrist in gesture. "Must I go back to calling you Master D'Lecross?"

"Not unless you want me to smack you."

A small laugh is exchanged, before the confused boy's brows furrow. "How long have you two known each other?"

I start counting backward on my fingers while the Fae Witch recounts in her own memories, clearly racking her brain for the answers and only coming up with distant memories.

She looks back at him and sighs. "The 7th century, I believe."

"Neustria, 740, a few years before the Carolingian Dynasty took over control of both Neustria and Austrasia."

Daniel blinks abruptly, brows furrowing.

"Europe," Meika snorts, laughing a little bit at his confusion. "You're not old enough, kid."

She continues to tell him about all the castles and battles for a little while before the sobbing really picks up again and distracts her.

Meika's nose wrinkles in an emotion I haven't seen before, her arms crossing. "What on earth is she doing?"

"Mourning, I suppose," I relent, looking at the floor and away from them.

Seeing their disheartened faces and their disappointment in me is not something I look forward to. The eyes hurt me, the tension aches, and I feel myself closing off and putting up walls again.

Theron's loss took a toll on everyone, save for Meika. She didn't particularly see the merit in grieving, nor had she ever. But this was something else. Before staring at the floor, something resembling disgust shown on her face and I didn't understand.

Perhaps she thought the behavior childish. This theory makes up for a lot of things, bar the way this hasn't ended yet. Though, I have a different theory. One nudging me to look at the motivation behind Remi's actions once again.

A slow knowing overtakes me when I glance up again. "You don't think...?"

"I do."

"The insolence of it all..." I mutter.

"Um, what?" Daniel asks again.

"She's punishing me," I explain, eyes glazing over with more than frustration than sadness now. "She's trying to make me feel bad for not saving his life... Remi likely wants me to suffer with her as if I needed that to be reminded of such a failure."

Daniel shrugs, his face hardening in thought. "I've never known Remi to do that... She's never wanted anyone to hurt, Iridian. Just, consider other options okay?"

"Fine, but someone has to go talk to her."

They both look at me.

At first, I think it's a joke, the way their eyes bore through me and find the discomfort and panic in my soul. But it's not. Daniel stands up from his place, going over to the door and pressing a cautious ear up to it before mouthing something unintelligible.

Meika scoffs and goes into the kitchen, putting away all the groceries and snacking on an apple as the sun dies down. The silver slips down her hair almost unnoticeably these days.

Her cries have died down again, but still, pick up every now and then.

Yes, it feels forced. I sense it better now, but I don't truly see where this became my fault. Yet, I do know all the stages of grief. Better than anyone, seeing as I rule over them. I created them.

Getting up, I shift past Daniel and open the door without knocking. Not in a blunt fashion, but one that isn't afraid of error. Perhaps bold, but it doesn't allow time to shift demeanor.

The poor girl is half curled in a crescent moon shape, lying among chaotic covers with one foot over the large comforter. I've never seen her hair so unmaintained and frizzy, some pasted sloppily on her cheeks and other clumps knotted together and splayed out over the sheets.

Her sniffling dies down until she sees me, cheeks growing more inflamed and she turns away. "Go away."

"Punishing me now, are we?" I ask, shutting the door behind me and stalking around the bed. "And I thought we were all grown ups."

Her lips curl into a hateful snarl but it fades, saying nothing.

The behavior doesn't phase me.

"Remilynn, what is wrong? Truly. I want to understand to the absolute best of my ability."

Remi rolls her eyes and pushes away from me. "Stop using my name like a mother, I wouldn't have told you if I knew you were just going to parade it around."

"A name is a privilege," I agree. "But that, my dear, is just a tactic to avoid answering my question and I must warn you my patience is very thin today."

"Oh yeah? Your patience? What about Theron's Patience? What about any of our patience? Does that actually matter to you Iridian, or are you just bullshitting us all with this holy behavior?" She rambles, Remi's lips wobbling with the frustration and pent up rage of agony dwelling within her small frame. "Why didn't you save him? I thought you were here to protect us!"

I try to pretend this doesn't hurt.

I try pretending the whole accusation in those words isn't the biggest gut punch I've been dealt in a hundred years at least.

Though I'm sure it shows wholey on my face just how upsetting it is. Fear flashes in the young girl's eyes and consumes the flickering soul within. Perhaps I look angry, perhaps she thinks I'll slit her throat where she stands.

But I won't.

I can't.

"I failed you," I whisper to her. "Not for the reason you think, but I did. I shouldn't have committed to protecting anyone in the mental and physical condition I'm in. However, it's not even that. Remi, Theron gave me two requests before he passed away before he left you."

She chokes a little bit in her throat, mouth falling open.

"Remi..." my voice breaks. "He begged me to take his life... Theron was in so much pain, he couldn't see, he didn't want to live anymore... He asked me not to let you watch him die painfully..."

Instead of the understanding I've come to expect from the girl, I receive more outrage. Remi launches off of the bed with a giant scowl and hisses under her breath.

"What the hell are you talking about, he would never!"

My teeth grind, anger bubbling to the surface of my chest as well, but instead, I smile and stand up. "I thought we might run into this problem."

"What are you doing?" She demands, backing away.

I take one deep breath and grab both of her temples in one rapid movement. "This might hurt a bit, so brace yourself."

Welcome back, everyone!

Sorry for the mildly uneventful chapter, but more will be happening in the next part, I promise. 

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