-Ashes-
Nine days had passed. Laelia spent most of her time sleeping, her body and heart still needing time to recover. She seemed so broken to me. Where was the fire? Where was the fierce northern princess who refused to bow?
I found it difficult to help her. She would barely say anything to me, and her brothers seemed just as lost. Only Ladon, I noticed, could get her to say more than a few words, but I knew he was also very confused about where our mother was.
I had tried to explain it in a way he could understand, but it had only made him angry, and he had stormed off. I had expected him to hide away like he usually did, but instead, I had found him lying in bed with Laelia, comforting her just as she was comforting him.
I, on the other hand, rarely stayed with her. My father had
