Chapter Ten – I saw the light go out of her.
Luna watches as the old Alpha and his Queen walk out onto the podium and people clap for them. In truth, Aria is a very annoying person, but she died, she was murdered by her best friend and her boyfriend, and now, she is back there, the place where she lived until she was brutally murdered. Coupled with that, she discovered that she was killed four months ago, not a week ago like they all thought, so maybe she should cut her some slack, life has been hard.
"Oh God." Aria gasps as Ryker and Elara walk up the stage and sits beside the Queen and Alpha.
"I feel I'm gonna vomit." She whispers and Kael wonders if he can wrap his hand around her, without her misunderstanding his intent, he understands that she is not ready to venture into something romantic and that is fine, he won't force her to be with him, but he knows she has been through hell, and being here must be hard for her. He makes eye contact with Luna who is standing beside Gideon. Luna nods and takes Aria hand.
"We can leave if you want." She assures Aria who nods in appreciation.
Kael turns his gaze back to the podium, not to Elara and Ryker, the murderers, no, to the Alpha, Alpha Jacob Valor, the man who is supposedly his father, he is old and wrinkled, he seems sick, and there is a stick beside him, to walk, because he can't walk on his own. Perhaps, truly, Kael came here for a different reason – not just to accompany Aria, but to see the man who is supposedly his father. Kael does not like to talk or think about his family, his mother and the lack thereof of a mother.
The old man does not look up at him, nothing of significance happens and he looks away. He would like to ask Aria if she is sure he is her father, but she was killed because of it, so it is certain. Anyway, he will get through this night for Aria, then he will leave and never return.
Elara gets up and walks to the mic on the podium, Aria frowns at her, wondering what she is up to, but she listens.
"Welcome to celebrate my fiancé and I, we are honored to host people from all over the world, you have to know that it is our greatest honor. My parents would like to speak, but we are all aware of his diagnosis, so I, as his only child and his perfect treasure, will speak on his behalf. However, before we dive into the beauty love of Ryker and I, we must acknowledge a wonderful person, someone that is unfortunately no longer with us." She says and Aria scoffs.
"Wow." Gideon shakes in head.
"Cassandra Wilder was my best friend and Ryker's girlfriend – she was a wild, and occasionally crazy person, she didn't have any care for the world or for rules that guide us, she prefers to act like an animal, she always wanted to be free, it was her greatest desire. As most of you now know, Cassandra passed four months ago peacefully." She starts, mustering sympathy and Aria feels disgust go through her, but she also feels Luna warm hand in hers, an anchor.
"I can still remember that evening like it was yesterday – Cassandra knocked on my door, with Ryker in tow, she said she needed to go by the river. Now, I understand that most people might blame us for indulging in her wish, but we loved Cassandra, she was beautiful and odd, so, reluctantly, we accepted her request and we went to the river. For a very long time, we swarm together, it was wonderful."
Aria screams as the knife went through her shoulder. She thrashes as Ryker drags by her hair, her blood laying a trail on the ground. Aria begged as Elara lit the match.
"However, at the end, we got out of the river, Cassandra smiled at us, she held our hands together and she passed away peacefully, I saw the light go out of her, it was a warm and stunning sight, she has lived and she has passed. Some people come into our life to teach us how to love, some come into our life to teach us how to let go, but Cassandra came into our lives to teach us how wonderful life can be, how brief it can be. She had always wanted to be buried at sea, she told us a lot of times, and we did as she said, we lay her at sea, with nothing attached."
Aria screams as the flame engulfs her. She cries as the boulder is tied to her foot.
Even in her death, Elara is mocking her, asserting her continuous victory and this tears her apart, but she seats, and she listens.
"In our grief, Ryker and I found each other, we found each other, and we loved each other, a greater and stronger bond starts to form, and we found love within each other, which was Cassandra's greatest wish, a wonderful wish, because Ryker and I found our mates within each other. Cassandra is gone and she will remain gone, we will honor her memory by loving each other continuously. Now, no more talk of the dead." She chuckles and Aria looks around to see people are wiping their tears, they felt moved by Elara's lies, they believed her, she has sunk her claws deep into the people.
Anger fills Aria, Elara killed her, she stabbed her, she burnt her, and she drowned her, there is no redemption for that, only pay back, a vicious kind of payback. She exhales harshly and she feels the power at the tip of her fingertips, she does not know what to do, or how to navigate her power, but she knows she is filled with enough anger to navigate it. It is high time people know who Elara and Ryker really are – murderers, cruel and vicious people.