I press my lips together tightly to stop my chin from quivering. “Why did she agree to such a short life?”
“Perhaps her job is done.”
“How can her job be done?” I demand almost angrily. “She was so young and she had so many dreams. She never got to fall in love, have children, be a grandmother, and she never got to have the career she wanted.”
“Those are earthly things. You think they are important, but they are not. She has done what she came to do and now she is gone.”
“You don’t understand, she wanted to live. She lived such a healthy lifestyle, she was worried she would outlive me and be alone for too long.”
“The mind is not the soul. Those were not the things her soul wanted to experience in this incarnation. She has done what she was supposed to do,” she insists quietly.
“What has she done?”
“It is not for you or me to judge. She’s the lightning before the thunder. There is a storm coming, Autumn. I warned you, remember?”
My mouth opens. “You didn’t tell me it would involve her.”
“I didn’t know, but she has done what she came to do. One day you will understand.”
“I will never, ever understand why she was taken away from me,” I cry bitterly.
“The day you will understand is coming sooner than you think.”
I’m in such a distressed state I do not think to question her mysterious words. “Oh, Zelena, I miss her so much. I don’t know if I can bear it.”
“I know. I know you’re hurting now. Drink your tea, child, before it gets cold. It will do you good.”
I lift the cup and drink the brew. It tastes of nothing. I wipe my eyes with the back of my hands. “What do I do now?”
“Now you sleep, but tomorrow you will go back up the mountain and continue your painting.”
I frown. “How did you know I was painting him?”
“You are an artist and he is a marvelous subject. Of course, you are painting him.”
I sigh deeply. “I have no desire to paint.”
“Work will heal your heart.”
There are other questions gnawing at my brain, but I feel too exhausted to deal with them. My eyelids start to feel heavy. I glance at her bed. It looks orderly and neat. My caravan is full of memories of Sam. Even the bed will smell of her.
“Why don’t you go to sleep on my bed?” she offers kindly.
“What about you?” I mumble half-heartedly. I’m so sleepy and drained I can hardly keep my eyes open.
“I never sleep at night. I make my potions and only snatch a few hours of sleep in the afternoon. Go on. I will wake you early in the morning so you won’t be late to work.”
I walk to the bed and as soon as my head touches the pillow I am gone to a place where there is no pain.
Zelena
I pull the duvet over her sleeping form and for a long time, stand looking down at her innocent face. This is a tragedy she will never get over. The way I never got over the death of my daughter. Always, she will mourn for this senseless loss.
I think of her trusting eyes filling with horror at what I must do. I wish with all my heart there was a different way, but there isn’t. I harden my heart.
Betrayal, I must see in her eyes.
Chapter 50
Rocco
I see Zelena’s door open, but it is not Autumn that comes out. It is Zelena. She walks to the edge of the field and makes a beckoning motion in the general direction of the forest. Immediately, I start walking quickly towards her.
From the moment Raoul reported that she was not at the gallery, I knew something was wrong. Pure instinct alone had lead me to the bar. I had waited in the dark for her and followed her home, keeping enough distance that she never felt my presence. I knew she was devastated, but I didn’t know why. And I knew not to approach her. If she had wanted me, she would have called me, she would have come to me. I bled for her as she walked barefoot on the road. Her gait swaying and unsteady.
It did not surprise me when she went into Zelena’s, but it did surprise me when she didn’t come out.
“What’s going on?” I ask urgently as I reach Zelena.
“I put her to sleep. They killed her friend today. Hit and run,” she says quietly.
“Sam?” I breathe incredulously. I never expected that.
She nods stiffly. There is some strong emotion inside her, but she makes a great effort to hide it from me. I am too furious to wonder what it is.
“How can you be sure it is them and not a coincidence?”
“Because I am Zelena and I know things others do not.”