Aftershock

EDALINE RUEWEN

EDALINE STOOD ON TOP of the small hill—where two saplings were soon to be planted—and smoothed her flawless emerald dress. It was a beautiful day, as if the heavens wanted to honor the two, too short lives that had been lost. As she reached up to fix her impeccable hair, Grady grabbed her hand. She was sure the unshed tears in his eyes were reflected in her own. "Eda..."

And that sent her over the top. A single tear made its way down her gaunt cheek, opening the floodgates for more. And she couldn't make herself care. What did it matter if Vika Heks saw her lose her composure? She'd just lost a daughter—for the second time. She was entitled to her grief.

Next to her, surrounded by her husband and the triplets, Edaline saw her sister similarly occupied through tearstained eyes. Abandoning her spot, she ran to her older sister and flung herself into her arms. She had to remember: as hard as this was for her, Juline had just lost a child for the first time. And while Jolie had been nearly twenty when she'd died, Dex was only thirteen. And Sophie, only twelve. At least now Edaline knew what to expect from her grief. It hurt just as bad as—possibly worse than—the day she'd lost Jolie, but at least the pain didn't take her by surprise. Instead she embraced it like an old friend. She became numb.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt herself led back to her side of the hill. She watched as the Councillors helped plant Sophie's Wanderling, carefully wrapping the seed in the hair strand she'd taken from Sophie's brush that morning. She robotically accepted condolences from acquaintances and strangers alike as the line progressed. And she was totally, blissfully numb.

Until she met the eyes of Della Vacker.

Her oldest friend was a mess. Her makeup was smeared, her eyes were puffy, and she hadn't bothered to style her chocolate brown waves. "Eda..." she managed to squeak between sobs, then her words became unintelligible.

Edaline let her tears spill over again as well. Though it was untraditional, Della crossed the few feet between them and hugged Edaline tightly. "I'm...I'm here if you need—hic—anything."

"Thank you," Edaline sobbed. Over her friend's shoulder she saw Alden, Alvar, and Fitz shake Grady's hand, and Biana curtsy to the Councillors. She'd never seen the entire family so...disheveled. They all looked like they'd lost weight. And their usually vibrant teal eyes were sunken and flat.

"I'm so sorry," Della whispered into her ear. "I can't imagine the pain of losing one of my children, and to lose two..."

Edaline was too distraught to respond. Eventually, Alden guided his wife away, and the procession continued.

Edaline sunk back into her shell of grief, determined not to let anything pull her out again. She vaguely remembered shaking the hands of Cassius, Gisela, and Keefe Sencen. Even Vika and Timkin Heks showed up with Stina, although she hadn't spoken to them in ages. She hadn't seen or spoken to half the people that showed up since Jolie's death, and the realization brought on a whole new batch of tears.

She noticed everyone leaving, and then her gaze settled on three, bright red heads. No, she and her sister were not in the same boat. She'd lost everything. Everything. Two times! Juline still had three children left. Three children to love, and cherish, and call her own. Bitter jealousy bubbled up from Edaline's stomach and wound its way up her spine. She let out a primal, guttural scream and sank to her knees. The last thing she remembered was Elwin forcing her to drink. Then it all went black.