Kybelle's funeral had begun, and Algernon was nowhere to be found.

Carissa stood next to Elon as a few of the men carried Kybelle's wrapped body towards her grave—a gaping hole in the ground. For all the grief the caravan members had put them through, at least they'd seen to the funeral preparations. They'd replaced the strips of Algernon's shirt with a finely woven red blanket and had spent all morning digging a hole deep enough to bury her.

The crowd parted to form a path for the men. The men began to pass Carissa, and a putrid smell wafted her way—the smell of death.

She stepped forward and tugged on one of the men's sleeves. "Wait."

The men carrying Kybelle paused, and one spoke, "We should bury it. The body is beginning to stink—"

"I know. I'll only be a moment." Carissa rounded the men until she stood by Kybelle's head.

It was still hard to believe that this was Kybelle—that she'd been walking and breathing yesterday and was decaying today.

Carissa swallowed tightly and began to fold the rug back. She'd never gotten to say goodbye to Kybelle. Her last words to her had been to her to pass the flask of water. If only she'd known that was the last thing she'd say to her.

But that was the thing about endings: you never knew quite when they were going to come.

You could never know when you'd speak your last words to someone, when you'd share your last embrace with them, when you'd last see them. Everyone was given a last opportunity to say goodbye to their loved ones, and yet none could recognize that opportunity when it came.

No one could ever be prepared for death, yet death was the only guarantee one had in life.

Carissa parted the last sheet of fabric, revealing Kybelle's face. Save for the nasty gash across her cheek, it was deathly pale. Carissa fingered a lock of Kybelle's dark hair.

Grief slammed into her, as if she'd run headfirst into a stone wall. Kybelle truly was dead, and Carissa had never gotten to say goodbye or even thank her.

Amidst all the chaos of fighting yare wolves and seeing Elon and Algernon dueling, it had been easy to let Kybelle's death slip her mind, to pretend that somehow it hadn't truly happened. But there was no denying that now.

Kybelle was gone, and no amount of effort on her part could ever bring her back.

One of the men folded the rug back over Kybelle's face, muttering something about the need to bury her and get the caravan moving.

The men walked around her, and Carissa's feet remained planted where they were, though her gaze followed Kybelle's progression.

Everything in her felt tight—her head, her throat, her chest—as if her sorrow were trying to strain past the confines of her physical body. Tears gathered on her lower lashes before slipping down her cheeks. Was there a way she could have prevented this? What if they'd searched for her earlier? What if they'd never approached Lyron's caravan? What if they'd insisted Kybelle remain on the other side of the border?

A warm pair of arms wrapped around her, and she leaned into Elon as he pressed his cheek against the top of her head.

Her gaze skimmed the crowd and stopped on Lyron. Though everyone wore solemn expressions, his was flushed from crying and streaked with tears. He was one of the few people here who'd known her.

Carissa opened up her arms, and Lyron darted away from the crowd to fall into her embrace. She pressed him close as his body shuddered with sobs.

The men picked up shovels and began to shove piles of displaced dirt into the awaiting maw of the grave. Then they began rolling rocks into the hole, and Carissa suppressed the urge to tell them to stop—lest one of the falling rocks hurt Kybelle.

But they couldn't hurt Kybelle now. Nothing could.

They piled the rocks high, forming a mound of stone. Carissa couldn't help but think of how much the rocks weighed, pinning and crushing Kybelle beneath them. But the rocks would keep the yare wolves from digging the body back up. When they'd placed the last stone, the villagers dispersed as if nothing had happened. Fabric rustled and snapped as they disassembled the tents.

Carissa approached Kybelle's grave and knelt in the dirt. She reached out to set her hand atop one of the rocks. Kybelle would journey with them no farther.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed when Elon cupped her shoulder. "They're leaving, Carissa."

Part of her wanted to tell him to let them leave. But Elon had them traveling with the caravan for a purpose. She rose and allowed Elon to guide her. It appeared Lyron had left while she'd been sitting by Kybelle's grave. Likely he'd rejoined his parents.

They halted in front of a wagon—where Algernon was already seated.

At the sight of him, Carissa felt something rupture inside of her, spilling anger into her chest until it burned like acid. She knew he was grieving too, but if he'd simply listened to Elon and not come, things would have turned out differently. It wasn't Elon's fault, and yet Algernon had come at him with arrows tipped in Nephesh—obviously intending to kill him.

"You have some things to answer for, Algernon."

***

Author's Note: I know this one is short and sweet, but that line seemed like a good chapter ending. :) However, if you don't want the chapter to end quite yet, you can always check out the sneak peek in my profile bio.