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“Viktorija? Is something wrong?” Dani asked.
“Dani? Why are you answering Ash’s phone?”
She groaned. “We are still in Russia, genius. The sun is shining, and Ash is out cold. I had to black out the windows when she crisped up like bacon.”
“Shit. Is she okay? Are you okay?” he asked.
“We’re both fine, and Eiko said she has a plan to deal with the sunburn issue.”
Luca was quiet for a moment. “Are you really okay, Dani? This is a lot, and she isn’t just your best friend. She’s also your sister.”
Her voice was cold when she answered. “She is still my sister, Luca, and every bit as much herself as she always was. If you doubt that for even a second, yo?—”
“Dani!” he interrupted. “I do not doubt Ash and will always love her. I was just calling to hear her voice. It’s been… It’s bad here, Dani. Really bad. Please have her call me when she wakes up.”
“Sorry, PH. I didn’t mean to snap at you. Ash’s spontaneous combustion freaked me out.”
“It’s fine, Dani. We’re all shaken. I guess you guys are on the night shift schedule now, so I’ll let you get some rest. And thanks for protecting her, Dani. We’d be lost without you.”
She chuckled. “I know. Good luck with…everything. I’ll have her call you when she gets up.”
Luca pressed end and returned to find the group still standing outside the throne room. He didn’t blame Viktorija for not wanting to go in. The time they’d spent sorting bodies had been the most horrific of his life, and he wasn’t eager to relive it either.
Viktorija told him, “Okay, we’ve got a plan for the tunnels, the entrance hall, and the dungeons. The worst of the rampage was in the throne room, and hundreds died there, human and Therian alike. It was indescribable. Still is. We were able to identify our direct relations, but beyond that, we could only sort by human or Therian. It was?—”
“There’s no need to explain, Princess,” Destin interrupted. “That is where we should focus our first efforts. What about the humans?”
“We will respect them and see them laid to rest with the same care we afford our people,” Luca replied. “The humans bury their dead.”
Viktorija looked at him with dismay. “Do you have any idea how hard it will be to separate them? I’m not even sure we can do it for the Therians. You were in there too, and everything just smells like death.”
Luca shook his head. “As tragic as that is, we know our family is dead. We have seen them and will have the closure of holding a funeral to mourn their loss. The humans have no idea what became of their people. Their families have been worried sick for days and have no idea that their loved ones are dead.”
He stopped speaking and ran a hand through his hair in frustration, then paced across the hall and back to the group. “I know it will make everything harder, but we have to find a way to include them. We once guarded the humans as the gods on the mountain, the Watchers. We were supposed to protect them from our world, but Nikoli and Nadya destroyed that secret.”
“I’m not arguing that we should do something, but I don’t know if we can identify the victims’ bodies.” Viktorija looked tortured.
“We are no longer a secret to the families who sent their people up here, believing it was a celebration. Let’s start there. They will be invited to mourn alongside us at the funeral, and I will compel no one to secrecy. I won’t start my reign with more lies. I vowed that when I took the throne, I would make positive changes for all of us. The laws will change, and our legacy will return.”
Luca felt the rightness of his words. “We’ve been separated for too long. Think of the good we can do in the world. Also, slavery is over from this moment and forevermore.”
The other Therians looked at Luca with respect. His insistence on a ceremony to honor and respect the dead sparked their excitement, and they talked over each other, suggesting ideas.
“We have many talented woodworkers in our clan,” Gregov offered. “They can craft caskets, though it might take time to make so many.”
“Humans also cremate their dead, don’t they?” Rancho asked.
“What if we give them an urn with the ashes?” Viktorija grimly suggested. “I’m not sure what else we can do.”
Bastien raised a hand. “Perhaps I can help. I created a spell to help us with that.” He aimed a wary look at the throne room’s closed doors. “I suspect it will take a great deal out of me, and I don’t want anyone to see my magic used for such ghastly purposes.”
The clues aligned in his mind. Are you a necromancer, Bastien? Luca asked telepathically.
The shorter man nodded almost imperceptibly. “Before I begin here, your family is ready for the next step, Your Highnesses.”
Luca turned to Viktorija. “Will you handle that if I help Bastien in the throne room?”
She nodded without hesitation. “I’d do anything not to go back in there. Royal regalia?”
