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Feremir
MASTER LEO DID NOThave a family. As the fire elemental stood beside his pyre, ready to light it so that Master Leo could enter the wind and be a part of it, it was only us, his students, and other masters who guarded his lifeless body. He was covered with the dark sheet that was the mark of his land, and underneath, he was all alone.
Aislinn stood beside me, squeezing my hand as tears rolled down my cheeks. She still hadn’t said a word to me, but she was here. She had come to me as soon as the news about Master Leo’s death reached them all.
It had been two days since the night Master Leo had dragged me back to his room to discuss the vision I’d had. Two days since he had died.
The night was still hazy in my memories, but there were aspects of it I could not forget even if I tried. Master Leo dead on the floor, bleeding and staring into nothing; the hallways passing by me in a blur as I ran to the great hall to get someone; the face of the older soldier whom I ran into as soon as I jolted into the great hall... Everything was a jumble, but I could not forget, no matter how hard I tried.
I would later find out that the soldier’s name was Eamon, and I would always appreciate the swift way he acted.
Without hesitating, Eamon ordered a younger soldier to go and get the healer. Then, he turned to me and asked me to describe the man who had killed Master Leo.
I wanted to object. Master Leo wasn’t dead, not yet at least; not when we could find him before death took him. But I did not.
Instead, I told him everything that had happened, as quickly as I could.
Once I was done, Eamon told me to wait at the great hall as they went to Master Leo. Aislinn came to me then, and ever since that night, she had been beside me whenever she could, offering her full support despite her own grief.
The fire elemental created a small ball of fire at his palm and gently placed it on top of Master Leo’s pyre. The sheet caught fire immediately; before long, the sounds of crackling wood and the smell of burning flesh circled us, making everyone’s eyes tear up.
No one had asked me what had happened to Master Leo. Someone or something had sent that arrow and yet, everyone pretended he had died in his sleep, a natural death suiting a man much older than he had been.
And today was no different.
The other masters had come, and his students were here, but that was it. Master Leo had lived his life in the Summer Court, serving the queen and the crown, and the Seelie. And yet, in his death, life at court would continue as usual.
“Feremir?” Aislinn’s hand was on my shoulder now.
When I turned to face her, I could not see her features properly. My vision was blurred with the tears that kept coming. She squeezed my shoulder and smiled sadly.
“We should get going,” she said softly.
Only then I realized that the funeral was over. The other students had already gone back to the palace. Master Leo’s body was gone into the wind. The other masters were still around the pyre, but they were chatting amongst themselves as though this was a casual day, and we were out in the northern courtyard to have a brisk winter walk.
Hogan was smirking as he met my gaze. He probably thought Master Leo’s death meant I had lost an ally against him. I was almost sure that he would try to taunt me now, and I couldn’t risk that, not because I was afraid of him, but because I was afraid of what I might do if he said anything ill toward Master Leo.
I let Aislinn pull me away from them. We did not speak as we entered the palace’s warm embrace. Aislinn’s arm was wrapped around mine, and without even trying, she was directing us. Hogan did not follow us inside.
“He was going to tell me something,” I whispered, my voice hoarse and croaked as I stared ahead at the empty hallway. “That night when someone put an arrow in his chest. He was taking me to his room to ask me something.”
“Do you know what it was about?” Aislinn asked curiously.
I turned to her as I kept walking. My gaze darted toward the painting behind her. A young woman holding an empty bundle of rags in the shape of a baby. The sadness in her eyes reminded me of my own sadness as we passed it by. Aislinn was staring at me, waiting for me to speak.
“Something about my vision,” I lowered my voice. “He wanted to talk about it. Not that it matters now, but...”
“Do you think that’s why they killed him?” Aislinn interrupted me.
I stopped walking and turned to her once again.
“What?”
She cocked her head at me, and for a second, it seemed as though she would scold me for being so daft. But then, compassion took over.
“He was murdered, Feremir,” she said as though she thought I would object to that fact. “No one talks about it, but he was killed. There has to be a reason for it. Right?”
“Yes,” I mumbled. “But... What could it have to do with my vision? I mean... The queen knows about my vision too. If she knows, there is no point in murdering Master Leo for knowing it too. They can’t hide it if it really matters. And who are they? Enemies to the crown? The Unseelie?”
