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We sink into a comfortable silence, none of us trying to give false assurances or polite placations. The battle and what happened to Domenic changed us all, and all we can do now is remember him the best we can, and keep the message of his redemption in our hearts. At the end of the day, he was still that friend willing to risk everything for the people he loved, and as misguided as it was, it was that same energy that brought him to follow Helene in the first place—because he believed he could truly help free his mother.
There were selfish reasons too, of course, but that’s human nature. We fail, we live, and we learn. And then we get up the very next day and do the same thing all over again.
Nelle reaches for my other hand, and I squeeze hers back, giving her a silent look of understanding. Despite his act of redemption in the end, I’m not sure that even if he lived I could have forgiven him for luring Nelle there that day, and that’s okay too. We’re not meant to forgive and forget everything, but we can make peace with it, with the path that life leads us on and the lessons we learn along the way.
Nelle’s shoulders slump in relief as though she can read those thoughts on my face. I could tell that she was struggling with her emotions when I told her the news, and I let her know that very same thing. We can both feel pain and betrayal at his actions, and make peace that he was as flawed as any of us, trying to do what he thought was right at the time.
The others don’t need to feel that way, they can remember that in peace now, and I want that for them—to remember our friend how he was when they first met him, each of us scared students, just trying to find our place in this new world.
“We love you, Liv,”Mateo thought projects to me, warming my heart and easing some of the tension.
“I love you, too,”I project back to them just as movement from the stage draws my attention out the center of the field. My father and mother walk across the stage, but my focus shifts to the large pyre just behind them. I knew what the plan was, but I still hadn’t seen it yet.
Long pieces of wood are placed in a cone shape with an opening in the center, the opening where Romulus’ body will go. Just seeing it is reassuring as it reminds me that we’ll have that sense of finality soon, that closure that he’s not about to awaken from the dead, that all of this is almost over.
“Today is a day of remembrance, and a day of celebration,” my father announces, his voice booming off the sides of the arena, assuring everyone can hear him. In the time since I sat with my friends, I hadn’t even realized how packed the seats have become. Every god, demigod, and guardian who fought with us, both here at the academy and in Ethereal, must be here today.
The sight of everyone gathered for this moment takes the breath from my lungs for a second, the overwhelming sense of unity weighing heavily on my chest.
“We all fought bravely; we all went onto that battlefield with one goal in mind, to save the lives of our friends, our families, and stop Romulus from taking our freewill, just as he’d done to the demons of the infernal realm, and finally help them take their freedom.”
“We did so unified,” my mother continues, her hand clasping my father’s as their golden wings spread behind them. “And the dark majors will continue to work with the light to ensure nothing else happens like this again.”
Murmurs spread through the stands as my mother lifts her opposite hand and sends a bolt of lightning up into the sky, letting the world know what we’ve known since the first moment we got back to the manor, that Octavia is now the leader of the dark majors, embodying all the dark powers, including death.
My father’s blond hair shines in the sunlight, clad in a black suit with a white-silver tie, while Octavia wears a long, flowing, black lace gown with gleaming white pearls, her elegant dark-brown curls cascading around her shoulders. If there are two people who can usher in the changes between the dark gods and the light, it’s the two of them.
“Today is not only about those who survived though. It’s about those who lost their lives in the battle, who risked themselves to stand for their friends and families, to stand for their home and a future we can all look forward to,” my father says, gesturing to the place beyond the arena where the bodies were laid to rest earlier today by Maximus and a group of volunteers. “I welcome you all to take a moment of silence, and please, visit the graves of those brave soldiers after the ceremony to pay your respects.”
His head dips along with my mother’s, and the rest of the crowd follows, the low murmur quieting to a ringing silence as we all take a moment to remember those we lost.
Kali squeezes my hand and takes a staggered breath, pulling my thoughts back to Domenic. I close my eyes, letting my thoughts drift to the grave site when I saw it earlier this morning. Each of the graves were marked with a headstone, most of the families and loved ones choosing to lay the fallen to rest where they fought, but some others insisted they be brought back to Ethereal for a burial at their home.
We made the decision to bury Domenic with them too, choosing to remember him for his final act of bravery, the one that took his life. I send a silent thought out to him, wherever his spirit may be, thanking him for saving Kali. I don’t know where I’d be right now if I’d lost her, where any of us would be right now. She’s the glue that holds us all together, the sweet, kind, and caring friend that first took me in, who helped me realize I wasn’t alone here despite it feeling that way at first.
Domenic wasn’t the only one who sacrificed himself in this fight. There were countless others who didn’t make it to the healing tent, those who gave their lives to fight for what is right. I send a silent thought up for them next, hoping the fates bless them well in wherever we might go after death.
“Thank you,” my mother murmurs, and my eyes flutter open. A silent tear rolls down my cheek, adding to the countless others I shed, and will continue to shed when alone with my friends and we all have a moment to take this new reality in and decompress.
I squeeze both Kali and Nelle’s hands, meeting their gazes in a silent thanks for being with me. There’s something clouding Nelle’s gaze though, but it’s gone in a flash before I can put my finger on it, and a soft smile spreads across her face.
“Romulus was at the center of all this. He manipulated and lied to countless people, not that it takes away anything from their actions,” my mother continues. Her hand slips from my father’s and they retreat to opposite edges of the stage, allowing us a full view of the pyre. “I know that each of us needs this to heal. We need to make sure that Romulus is gone for good this time.”
A group of gods appear at the entrance to the arena with a body on a wooden stretcher. Romulus. Tension radiates through my chest at the sight of him, and despite the black gaping hole in the center of his chest, my hackles still rise just at the mere sight of him.
Some of that anxiety wanes at the sight of the god leading the procession. Phil is at the front on the left, while Ajax is on the right. With them watching over his body, I already know that nothing happened to it, and with Octavia watching him before that, it helps to ease the incessant thought that he isn’t really dead despite the fact that I took his life myself.
They carry his lifeless body behind the stage, and I keep my eyes on him the entire way as they slide him into the opening and wait on either side, planks in hand.
My father and mother walk to the center of the stage and turn to face the pyre, their fingers interlocking as they lift their opposite hands towards the wood. At once, fire spits from their palms, engulfing the kindling under Romulus in flames. The gods who carried him out quickly place the final boards, narrowly avoiding the flames already licking up around Romulus’ body.
They grow higher and higher, slowly consuming his lifeless body, his skin and flesh no longer immortal as they incinerate in the magnificent blaze.
A weight lifts from my chest at the sight, my grip on my friends’ hands easing slightly as the bone-crushing relief sweeps over me.
No more looking over my shoulder wondering when the next attack is going to come. No more having to live with my friends’ lives being placed in jeopardy because that’s their best chance at surviving this war.
We get to breathe.
