Erador crouched at the water’s edge. The lit torches reflected on the lake’s surface, set against the gray clouds. Dozens of feet rustled through the grass as occasional whispers interrupted the silence.

  Erador tugged on the tight silk shirt. He undid the top button and slicked back a loose strand of hair. Eli’s body rotted under these waters. He didn’t want a ceremony and requested only the Paradins to attend, but Erador didn’t because he was afraid it would've been difficult to contain his emotions. With the followers here this time, it would only look bad if he didn’t.

  He reached toward the water and a hand snatched his wrist.

  “You shouldn’t touch the water,” Loma said. “It's sacred.”

  Erador rolled his eyes.

  “Don’t you roll your eyes.” Loma used the strict tone from when he was a child and he felt a little irritation of having to be reminded of that time. “You'll ruin the burial and we'll have to re-bless the entire lake.” She roughly buttoned his shirt. “I doubt you want to be here for that.” Loma smoothed the fabric. “There. It looks better that way.”

  When Loma turned, Erador undid the button. He took his place in the back row beside Mikra, the second tallest Paradin next to Eonidas. Erador glanced in Mikra’s direction several times, the uneasy feeling taking over again. The Paradins were lined behind Judgment in two rows from tallest to shortest. Each one was dressed in their best, which wasn’t saying much. Either the clothing was too small like Erador’s or worn.

  Judgment’s head peaked above the backrest of the chair. It was the straightest he’d sat in a long time due to the narrow back and cushions supporting him. A circlet surrounded his thinning head and Erador bit back his negative feelings of how his father wasn’t a ruler anymore.

  Maybe he could fool his followers, gathered across the grass, who watched with lowered heads and cupped hands. There were about one hundred, so few compared to before Lucrethia’s fall.

  He noticed the long black braid against Haven’s back in front of him. His stomach tumbled as he stared at her head, wishing she would glance at him. Two sunflowers swung in his vision, throwing off his thoughts.

  “Got your sunflowers,” Jerus said, in a gravely voice that threatened to scratch his eardrums.

  Erador let out a controlled breath through his nose and snatched them from him. He held them at his side out of sight, to avoid looking at the yellow color that plagued him. When he saw the sunflowers the other Paradins held, he flicked his eyes toward the gray clouds, and a water droplet dripped onto his nose. The coldness slid off the tip and onto his lips.

  Loma stepped on a crate and raised her hands to silence the whispering crowd. Her shoulder length hair fanned in the gust of wind. Her voice carried strong through the rustling trees, but it was filled with pain and loss that broke Erador’s stance.

  “Today is an unfortunate day, for we must say goodbye to two more Paradins.” She looked through the crowd. “Breck had a sharp eye and sometimes an attitude, but he was surprisingly thoughtful and sweet. He looked out for children and truly believed peace was possible.”

  “As if he was peaceful,” Erador mumbled. His eyes met Hawth’s searing glare before he faced forward. Erador craned his neck to see in the first row. Yellow petals peeked out from over Hawth’s shoulder. Erador leaned toward Jerus. “Why is Hawth here?”

  “Probably to make it look like there are more Paradins. If you ask me,” Jerus said, moving closer. “We look pathetic.”

  Jerus nudged Dethil in the side as if hoping to get him to agree but he said nothing and stiffened.

  “Gillian isn’t here," Erador said.

  Fedra glimpsed back at him. “If Gillian were standing, the people would riot.”

  Cade leaned forward on his canes next to Dethil. “Speak for yourself old man.”

  “At least Hawth is capable of putting up a fight,” Jerus said, loudly so the rest of the Paradins heard.

  Cade whacked his cane into Jerus’s shin and he yelped. “You think I can’t now?”

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  Dethil snorted and covered his mouth to contain himself when Jerus glared. Sescina turned her head around sharply and Erador’s laughter settled. She pressed a finger to her mouth from the first row and shushed them. Erador looked back at Loma.

  “Pia was a flower, delicately small yet her hands...” Loma squeezed her fingers into fists. “Were worn from work. She was our mammoth, full of heart, emotional strength, and beauty.”

  She was intelligent too. Guilt plagued his stomach when he remembered her furious face and bloodshot eyes from her last moments. He tried to recall her tired face and smile, and when he caught her staring at him and looked away shyly. His stomach knotted, regretting how he more than dismissed her. She worked day and night to help his father and he hadn’t thanked her enough. She deserved more and she would have none of what she hoped for like all of them.

  He bit back tears and scanned the crowd when he found Yuni on the other side of Loma. Erador tensed his grip, the sunflower's stems snapping as a cold fire tangled inside him. He didn’t have time to mourn.

  Loma stepped off the box and presented Judgment with an arm gesture as she backed away. The torch light yellowed his father’s pale skin. The followers looked at one another and cupped their ears.

  Judgment sucked in a breath. “I relieve them of their duties as Paradins. Allow us to cast them into the depths of the blessed lake where they will sleep eternally in peace. Children, let us hope they reach Paradise when we find it.”

  Loma gestured for the Paradins to move to the dock. Erador followed Mikra to the first casket and set a sunflower over Breck’s wolf banner. He went to the next, placing the sunflower gently on the mammoth.

  Erador turned. Hawth blocked his path as the other Paradins moved around them, placing sunflowers on Pia’s casket. Hawth’s lips twitched at the corners. He bumped into Erador’s side and kissed the petals as he placed it on top of the mammoth banner. Erador held his breath to stop himself from hitting him.

  His scars burned as he was pulled into a visions of a casket drifting off to sea. A child’s small hand could be felt inside his own. He couldn’t be there for her in ways like her mother could. Blinking, Erador returned to reality as Eonidas stared at him strangely and nodded toward Breck’s casket.

  Erador grabbed a handle and helped Eonidas push it down the ramp. The casket floated on the lake. Mikra and Dethil followed with Pia’s casket. The other Paradins tossed the anchors into the water and watched as the caskets sunk, bubbles floated to the surface. The sunflowers was all that was left.

  Erador stared at the water as the followers shuffled away and the Paradins left, carrying Judgment with them. He nodded at Dethil’s compassionate shoulder touch, and didn’t feel as alone when Eonidas pat his back. Cade tapped his foot lightly with his cane and gave him a pained smile. Aminria stared the longest and squeezed his hand gently but in the most painful way he couldn’t have imagined. She whispered in his ear to meet him near Breck’s room. At least, she was willing to help. She left him, they all did but he couldn't tear away from the swallowing dark lake.

  His father would be here. They all would.

  Then he felt what he needed, a hand made his shoulder tingle pleasantly. Haven let go and picked up a yellow petal from the ground. She let go and it floated across the water.

  Haven stroked the wooden ram necklace. “I wish I could see him again.”

  Erador crouched by the water and dipped his hand in. He didn’t want to tell her he still felt unsure about what happened to Taurin.

  “We lost two more people because of Judgment,” she said.

  Erador rose and faced her. “My father didn't murder them.”

  Haven let out a breath that sounded like the snort of an angry ram. “Judgment fills their heads with hope, so they stay even when they’re in danger.”

  “You’re here,” Erador said. “You can go to your people.”

  Haven sighed and turned toward the lake. “Then why are you here? You don’t believe in Paradise but you stay by your father.”

  “I’m marked like you,” Erador said. “I can’t leave, not unless I want to face death. Lucrethia still means something to us, my friends matter... and so do you.”

  Haven’s eyes widened and wandered away.

  Erador reached out and touched her shoulder. “You don't have to stay. You have another place to call home.”

  She moved away from him. “I told you I can’t.”

  “Why?” Erador frowned. “You can start over.”

  “Not when I have to face things I’ve done.” She shook her head. “We all have our problems.” Her eyes wandered down his face scars and he shivered. “And not all are willing to share it.”

  Erador’s throat tightened as he watched the yellow petal on the lake, knowing he had his own secrets, and obstacles he needed to face. Maybe that’s what Haven needed. She had to face the past that plagued her so she could move on. Maybe she needed to go on that journey with her brother, even if it was dangerous. What if she would be safer there? At least one of them could have a chance.