Chapter 68

CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT

Ellery

We were halfway through the second row of dead when I spotted my mother. My steps faltered, my legs trembled, and I almost sank to the floor.

Instead, I stood there, unable to move, as I gazed at her ruined body with a bloody hole in the center of her chest, where her heart used to be. Whoever carried her here had positioned her with her hands on her belly and her heart in them.

My hands shook so badly that the coffin tilted precariously to the side. It started to slump toward the floor when someone caught it.

Tears burned my eyes when I looked into the handsome face of a man I didn’t recognize. He’d brushed his light brown hair neatly back from his face, and his golden-brown eyes shone with kindness when they surveyed me.

At around six foot four, the man was Ryker’s height but much leaner in build. Stubble lined his narrow face and high cheekbones.

“It’s okay, milady, I’ve got it,” he said quietly.

Unable to hold it anymore, I released the coffin to him, and he bent to set it on the ground. Behind him, Mr. Fletcher did the same before opening the top.

When I bent to grasp my mother’s shoulders, Mr. Fletcher rested his hand on my arm to stop me. “Let me do it.”

“You can’t get her in there by yourself.”

“I can.”

“I’ll help,” the other man offered.

“That would be kind of you,” Mr. Fletcher said.

“She’s my mother.”

Mr. Fletcher squeezed my arm. “Let us do this, Ellery. You don’t have to be involved in this part; you’ve done enough.”

I hadn’t done anything other than fail to save her, but while I’d prefer not to have a stranger put my mother in her coffin, I was afraid I’d drop her if I tried to do it. That would be so much worse than stepping aside.

When I moved away to give them room, I felt Ryker’s eyes on me, and it gave me a bit of strength to know he was here. It took everything I had not to turn and look at him, but it would only cause more problems.

The stranger and Mr. Fletcher lifted my mother. I hadn’t expected her to be stiff, but her body was rigid as they moved her toward the coffin. The shock of discovering that would have caused me to drop her.

She’s dead.

I’d witnessed that death, but a small part of me must have still refused to believe it. I couldn’t deny it anymore as they settled her in the coffin.

When Mr. Fletcher lifted the lid, I raised my hand to stop him before freezing. I wanted to kneel beside her and say my final goodbyes, but I couldn’t do that here… in front of them. We would first take her home to where she belonged.

I flinched when the lid closed with a click.

The stranger rested his hand on my arm, drawing my attention to him. “I’m sorry about your loss, milady.”

I had to swallow a couple of times before speaking. “Thank you…?”

“Gaius,” he supplied when my voice trailed off questioningly.

“Thank you, Gaius.”

He gave me a small smile. “Would you like me to carry the coffin out for you?”

“That’s kind of you, but no, I’ll take her from here.”

He bowed his head. “Of course, milady. If there’s anything else I can do.”

“No, thank you. You’ve been too kind.”

Bending, I lifted my end of the coffin at the same time as Mr. Fletcher. I wasn’t prepared for the added weight, which was a stupid thing not to be ready for, considering I knew we were carrying an empty casket to retrieve her body.

However, the unexpected weight nearly sent me reeling as bile surged up my throat and the urge to cry consumed me.

I will not cry here. I will not cry here.

I kept telling myself this as we moved back through the bodies and toward the doors. This was the toughest thing I’d ever done in my life, but I wouldn’t fall apart in front of them .

I felt so many eyes on us, but only one mattered, and Ryker’s eyes helped me get through the ballroom again. Keeping my gaze straight ahead, I didn’t look at any of the dead again.