The dirt fell over the top of the golden casket, signaling that this plot of land was truly my sister’s final resting place. I had chosen the garden as it was the only place beautiful enough to feel fitting and she could always feel nearby to me. When my own time came I made sure there would be enough room beside her to join her beneath our favorite blooms.

  It was a surreal experience to hear the dirt thudding against the wood and metal, it made it all the more real and terrifying. With each shovel full of dirt, she disconnected more from the living world. The idea that I would never again lay my eyes on her face filled my heart with dread. Already the dark worry that I may one day find myself unable to remember what she looked like or hear her voice in my mind clawed at me. They were both still so sharp in my mind, but for how long?

  Evonia, my sister, was well and truly gone. We were all each other had as family and confidants for the vast majority of our lives. She was always the first and foremost person in my heart and, as irrational and silly as it sounded, she had seemed immortal. Even as she had slowly faded from her once vivacious self to someone who could barely get out of bed, the idea that she would one day leave me felt inconceivable. It had been simply too horrible to imagine that day would come. Yet, it had.

  “Mari?” Toria whispered and gently placed a hand on my shoulder.

  I had been standing and staring at the same spot long after they had finished laying Evonia in her final resting place. The dirt had been patted down and leveled, ready for the flowers that I planned to plant over her grave. It felt so final. I knew it was time for me to start to pull the pieces of my life back together, but I didn’t want to start just yet.

  In my mind, I could still clearly see her clutching the iris I had placed between her folded fingers. Her favorite flower and the only one that felt fitting to rest eternally with her. It had not been something we discussed, but I knew she would have approved of the choice.

  “You need to let go,” Toria prodded softly, tugging my arm slightly to encourage my feet to move.

  “I can't,” I replied with a down-trodden shrug. I couldn't leave the spot, leaving would mean going back to a life that was now surely without her, forever. The longer I stayed, the longer I could dwell in the transition between her being alive and my life without her.

  “You can... you must,” she insisted.

  She was right. I needed to leave, but it was too painful. It was like ripping the bandages from a wound that had scabbed over with the fibers embedded. It would be awful, but it had to be done or it would fester.

  With a heavy sigh and a catch in my throat, I willed the glamour to drop from Evonia's body and felt the power flow back into me. I had kept it up until the very end for her, even after the casket had closed and no one else would see her again. It had been my last tether to her and with it severed, I felt more empty than before.

  “Good, let's go.”

  I allowed Toria to lead me away, her touch warm and comforting. Though I had always chosen not to have a daughter, I found myself questioning my decision since she had entered our lives. Evonia had been absolutely correct in making her the heir. Toria had a quality about her that matched ours, she was a perfect continuance of our bloodline.

  “Do you think Evonia would have liked what we did?” she asked quietly as we strolled towards the back of the gardens.

  Neither of us felt up to going back into the castle, or reality, at the moment.

  “Yes,” I answered. “We never spoke much about what she would want, but she knew that I would make sure everything would be to her liking. She would be very content with how it turned out.”

  “You didn't drop her glamour until after she was in the ground and covered,” Toria noted, her eyes swinging back towards where Evonia now lay on the other end of the garden.

  “She would come back to haunt me if I had let anyone see her as she truly was,” I said with a little laugh. I wasn't entirely joking though.

  “I think it was rather sweet of you to do that. I could tell it was taxing on you. You seem much less pale and stronger now.”

  “I'm just getting old,” I replied.

  I took a seat on one of the stone benches in the back of the grand garden. Evonia had always been attached to the idea of having an enviable garden. She had filled it with roses, lilies, and her favorite, irises, then meticulously managed each plant to grow to its full glory. There were more servants devoted to the garden than the kitchen. Sometimes I was certain that she adored her garden more than she did any one person.

  “There was a time in my life that holding a glamour for an entire crowd of people would not have been too big of an ask. Now, I feel the passage of the years and with each one I feel the end coming closer.”

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  “You still have a lot of time left,” Toria assured, giving my shoulder a squeeze.

  I shrugged in response. I didn't think it really mattered either way. What would come, would. There was not much I could do to stop it.

  “Everything in it's time, child,” I sighed.

  “You know, one day you're going to have to stop calling me 'child,' tomorrow is coronation,” she said with a tiny playful glint in her eye.

  “When you get to my age, everyone younger than you is a child and you are very much younger. Besides, I think you actually like it.”

  She gave a small grin and nodded. “Regardless, what will the servants think?”

  “Who cares what they think?” I retorted. “They will always find something to gossip about even if they are given nothing worthy of chatter. It is just the way of people.”

  The afternoon spring air rustled the leaves of the plants around us, sending a shiver up my spine. It was still early enough in the season to have a decent nip in the air. It was typically my favorite time of the year, though now it was likely forever spoiled.

  “Her children did not come today,” Toria said barely above a whisper. “I would have expected at least one of them would.”

  I could tell that she wanted an answer or a reason as to why they would not, but was afraid that it was the wrong time. I wasn't sure there could be a right time for such things.

  “I am not surprised,” I said flatly, “though I did send them notice.”

  “Did they really dislike her so much?” she pressed. “They were given so much. The magical training alone is worth more than my weight in gold.”

  Letting out a long sigh, I prepared myself to try to figure out how to explain the strange dynamic that had become the House Yser.

  “Dislike is not really the word for it,” I began, “I suppose that it would be better described as they felt that she disowned them. Which I suppose she did in her own way.”

  “Disowned them? But she always seemed to feel something for their absence.” Toria furrowed her brow. “She did not like to talk about them, but there was something else there among her dismissal.”

  “I think she regretted sending them away, but she was either too proud or felt like the damage was irreparable,” I admitted with a shrug. “She made rash decisions when she was younger and more prone to bouts of anger. I loved my sister more than any other person, but even I can admit that some of the decisions she made were fueled by pride or emotion rather than rational thought.” I paused to pick one of the roses nearest to me. “That would be something to try to avoid for yourself.”

  “I suppose I am just confused how the bloodline seemed so precious, yet she so swiftly and completely cut parts of it off,” Toria pressed.

  I pursed my lips together and closed my eyes, bringing my thoughts back to the days when Evonia's children were sent away. Rela was easy to understand, she was weak and obviously did not enjoy being a part of the family. The twins, though, had the potential for power and personalities to match. They could have been a very formidable continuation of the Yser line if they had been allowed to stay.

  “They were not worthy heirs,” I finally said, opening my eyes once more. “They would not have served the Yser name in the way that my sister envisioned and kept the sacred pact.”

  Toria's face darkened slightly and her jaw tightened. “So they could have ruled as heirs, but they were just not exactly what Evonia had envisioned taking over for her?”

  “Yes, you are the replacement much like your brother was for you,” I confirmed. I knew she would hate the answer and perhaps in a better frame of mind I would have been able to think on my feet for a different, more palatable way to phrase the truth, but for now, I was too exhausted to try to sugar coat anything.

  “That...” She trailed off, her eyes becoming distant.

  “Yes, I know what you're thinking,” I sighed. “Though I do think she made the right choice in the end. Her children were weak in ways you are not. The bloodline is better served with you taking over as its head.”

  “Is that any real excuse?” she questioned. “Even if my brother ends up being a much more powerful ruler, does that make his usurpation any more fair? Should I, or anyone, look back at the superficial reasoning behind my removal as heir and feel the ends justify the means?”

  “That I cannot answer right now. I am tired and world-worn right now. I can only say for certain that I am very glad that you are the one here with me now,” I said and gently grasped her hand. “I cannot imagine any of her children being the ones to help me navigate through what remains of my life now that she’s gone. With you here, I think it might just be manageable.”

  She sighed and glanced at me from the corner of her eye. “I know it is not the time to be talking about any of this and we should table this discussion for another time, but I can't help but feel like a hypocrite.”

  “You are only making the best out of the situation. If anyone is to shoulder blame here, we just buried her in the ground.”

  “I suppose…” Toria went quiet for a long moment, the gentle spring breeze rustling through the garden leaves filled the empty space. “However, I would like to meet the twins one day.”

  “You will not like them,” I said with a small laugh. They were precisely the opposite kind of people from my niece. It would be like throwing water onto a grease fire.

  “Why not?”

  “They are warriors for good, quite literally,” I answered in a disdainful tone.

  I had followed the twins throughout their lives and had watched them rebel against every single thing Evonia ever taught them. They now saw their upbringing as something damnable and deviant.

  “The poor fools,” Toria tutted.

  I let out an actual laugh, Evonia had certainly done her best to mold Toria into being the ideal replacement. Of course, I had also done my fair share. I shuddered to think what would have become of her had we not come along. Either her anger would have consumed her and blinded her to her own strength or she would have given up hope and floated through the rest of her life. It filled me with a great amount of pride to see her strong and self-assured.

  “I think we have stalled long enough,” I said, rising to my feet. It was surprising that I felt ready to face going back to reality, but talking with Toria always seemed to mysteriously make me feel much better about the world.

  “Yes, people will be wondering where we went off to,” she added, also rising to entwine her arm with mine. “Besides, you have to get on assuring me that I won't completely botch anything at the coronation tomorrow. You know that sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my thoughts.”

  We walked arm-in-arm to the castle door, my heart aching, yet feeling full at the same time. This was certainly the worst day of my life and yet I couldn't help but feel a little hopeful for the future. The spirit and reputation of the House of Yser would live on and flourish, even if Evonia did not.