The Destiny (Blood and Destiny Book 4) (26 page)

“It’s symbolic,”
Larissa said. She had no idea what the Eptorans did at funerals. She wasn’t
sure she cared, either.

Beside the Empress,
Elena said nothing. The tears in her eyes were unmistakable. She stepped up to
the pyre, clutching something in her hands. Silently, she reached out and
placed an object on one of the jutting pieces of wood. She muttered a few
silent words, clutching at the wood as if it were Cid’s body, perhaps saying a
final farewell.

Larissa attempted to
swallow the lump in her throat only to find that it remained no matter how hard
she swallowed. When Elena stepped away from the pyre, the item left behind
caught Larissa’s eye. Tears burst free, and she stopped trying to deny them. A
lone pair of goggles swung in the gentle breeze rustling the leaves of the
trees behind them.

“Though we have no body
to burn, we burn this pyre as a symbol, committing the spirit of Cid Mendle to
the afterlife. May he find whatever he was looking for in this life in the
next.” Friar Narry had already lit a torch, the flame burning steadily in his
hand. He reached out and presented the torch to Larissa. She’d assumed he would
be the one to light the pyre and didn’t know what was expected of her when
taking the torch, her ignorance in the ways of the world striking at her once
again. Was she supposed to say something? She had planned on saying nothing, on
simply letting the Friar do all the work and trying not to snort and snivel
through the entire afternoon.

Larissa swallowed the
lump yet again. The flame in her hand let off far less heat than the burning
eyes of all the people in attendance. She felt her neck flush, and her free
hand twitched up to where her necklace had once been. She found only skin
beneath her fingers.

“Cid Mendle saved my
life,” she began. “He saved the lives of many people with his actions.
Although, if you dared praise him for it, he would probably grunt a dismissal
and swear at you.”

A few muffled laughs
came from somewhere behind. She wasn’t sure who had found it funny, but her own
memories of Cid’s surly humour brought a small smile to her face. That smile
didn’t last long when she realised just how much she would miss him.

“He hated my cat.
Imago. In the beginning. He hated me too. At least, that was what I thought. In
reality, he was the kindest and smartest man I have ever met. In all the things
that have happened since this crazy journey began, if I could change only one
thing, it would be this.”

As the flaming torch
set light to the kindling at the base of the pyre, she completed her farewell
to Cid, and to Imago, in silence. She didn’t dare mention the fact that her
beloved cat had perished as well, not when the Empress was present. It might
prove useful for the Empress to still believe that Larissa was a
Rifar
,
in control of a powerful
Rifarin
.

The flames burned away
the carefully constructed layers of wood. The smoke billowed into the air,
mixing with the smoggy atmosphere. The goggles turned to ash along with the
wood, and slowly, one by one, people moved away from the pyre, gathering
together at a respectable distance to begin muted conversations.

Larissa moved to stand
beside Holt. He stared down at her, a dark glint of seriousness in his eyes.

“What is it?” she asked.

“You need to take
command of the discussion before it descends any further. Bad words said here
could lead to war.” He nodded in the direction of the group nearby. The Empress
was discussing something with General Gott, a man Larissa knew virtually nothing
about. From the way the General’s face was turning beetroot red, the
conversation was not going well.

“What do you think I
can do or say to fix it?”

“Be yourself. That’s
usually enough. This is what will be required of you if you get voted in.”

“I still think that’s
highly unlikely. I’m surprised they even accepted my name on the ballot.”

“Either way, the
current situation needs intervention.”

With a sigh, she left
Elena alone with the dying flames.

A flush of heat which
had nothing to do with the fire rushed across her face. She wanted nothing more
than to head back to a tavern and snuggle up with Holt in the crisp evening
air, a warm pie in her stomach and even warmer bedsheets surrounding them. He
was probably all pent up from a lack of physical challenge, fighting, or
running. She could easily provide a solution to that problem.

But such thoughts were
entirely improper for a woman who seemed the only one capable of speaking
reason to the odd group of people gathered here.

She noticed Sandy
standing very close to Colonel Kerrigan, her hand almost holding his. Either
Kerrigan didn’t notice or didn’t mind that she was there. As soon as the
inappropriate thoughts of Holt moved out of Larissa’s head, some sordid
imaginings of Sandy and Kerrigan moved right in. She pushed those thoughts to
one side, knowing she couldn’t hide the pink glow of embarrassment on her skin,
but at least the others wouldn’t know the cause. The only mind-reader she knew
of was well and truly dead.

“I’ve made my position
clear,” the Empress said, her shrill voice cutting through the chatter of the
group and bringing the conversation to a halt. “If you want a complete end to
all hostilities, then the Empirical lineage of Daltonia should be reinstated.
Only then can we consider opening up more friendly trade negotiations between
our nations.”

With that, the Empress
turned to leave, her entourage of bodyguards following wordlessly.

“I’ve done all I can
do,” she said to Larissa as she passed by. “The rest is on your shoulders.”

“Well, Empress?” Holt
spoke quietly, leaning toward Larissa’s ear.

“Someone once promised
me the world…this wasn’t quite what I had been hoping for.”

“Just remember, you’re
not alone.”

“Planning on sticking
around because you have to, or because you want to?” she asked with a smirk.

“Both. Besides, someone
needs to keep your aim on target. Otherwise, we’ll run out of lampposts.”

THE END

Dear reader

You’ve made it! If you
have stuck with this series to the bitter end then please allow me to thank you
from the bottom of my heart. This has been a truly incredible experience from
start to finish. I never really set out to be a serious writer; this story was
just a two thousand word entry to an online writing contest that grew and grew.
I can only hope, that as you’ve lasted this long, you enjoyed reading.

If you want to keep
up-to-date with news, or check out my other books then pop along to my website
and feel free to sign up to my newsletter (I’ll only send you interesting stuff
though, I won’t spam you with boring stuff about my favourite choice of hygiene
products or other such nonsense).

If you enjoyed this
book and love a little bit of a naughty read then feel free to check out my
erotic fantasy series The Consort’s Chronicles. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Otherwise, thank you
once more. If you have the time spare then please leave a review, I love to
hear what people think of my stories.

Warmest regards

E.C. Jarvis

x

E.C.
Jarvis is a British author working mainly in speculative and fantasy fiction
genres. For most of her working life, Jarvis has been working her way through
the ranks of the accountancy profession in various industries. At the same time
she has also been writing.

“It
was always a hobby. I’d knock a poem out every now and then, or enter something
into a short story competition, with very little success, but that never
stopped me. There has always been an underlying need to write. It comes and
goes with varying intensity, but it’s always there, like an itch that needs to
be scratched.”

Her first success at publishing was a poem in a
collection titled Fear Itself published by Forward Poetry in 2012. Following a
three year hiatus where she “couldn’t even bring myself to write a shopping
list”, 2015 saw a turnaround that has seen her complete three full novels, and has
now completed her first series.

She
was born in Surrey, England in 1982. She now resides in Hampshire, England
with her daughter and husband.

Find
out more at:

 
www.ecjarvis.com

www.facebook.com/E.C.JarvisAuthor

https://twitter.com/EC_Jarvis