32. I WILL HELP YOU
On the morning that Cornelius died, Pepin found Aoife crumpled on the stairs, the ones leading back to the cells, with her face hidden in her knees. Her skin was red from the heat of her heartbreak. He scooped her up in his arms, and lay next to her on their bed. The guards were too busy to pay them any notice. He could feel the turmoil in her grief, and wished he could take the pain away from her. When she woke from her sleep that had temporarily silenced her suffering, she reached for her flute and played the most evocative song Pepin had ever heard. Each note was like a melodious, mourning reverberation, the shift in key was another step towards abject anguish. When the song was over, Pepin gently pulled the flute away from her, and asked her what had happened. Pepin understood that A
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