Chapter 35

Valeria

Everyone wears black. A soft cello melody drifts through the ballroom, arranged for a wake. The air is heavy with grief. In one corner, Emmet’s mate silently cries, and the sight is heartbreaking.

Surprisingly, Jade hasn’t turned the moment toward herself. She stands apart, gazing out the window at the garden, where Emmet’s body lies covered upon a pyre, waiting to be burned before the night ends.

Making my way through the crowd, I listen in to people’s conversations. “They say a hun