Awakening The Silver Wolf

RAVENNA POV 

We raced back to the hut, my heart racing with us. Dalian refused to tell me what was wrong, only that Grandmother had asked to see me. 

When we reached the hut I immediately knew something was wrong. The place was crowded. People cleared as we passed, their sad gaze following me. 

Oh, please let it not be what I'm thinking it is. I have only just found her for goodness sake!

We reached inside the hut and Dalian led me to her room while Darius stayed outside. The people in her room cleared when they saw us, giving Dalian a pat on the back and me a sad smile.

Grandmother was sitting up on her bed, pillows propped on her back to hold her up, her hands folded in front of her. 

Everything appeared normal until I saw how her hands shook, and then she coughed and I knew nothing was normal. 

I was immediately there, running my hand up and down her back as the cough racked her body, making her tremble.

Dalian handed her a cup of water but she waved it away.

"Since when has she had this cough?" I asked Dalian, not taking my eyes off her as she tried to catch her breath.

"For a few years," he answered. "But… but it was never this serious. Never like this." 

When Grandmother had caught her breath she took a deep breath and leaned back on the pillows. She raised a shaky hand and caressed my cheek, her barely open eyes gleaming with tears. And she turned to Dalian and gestured him over.

"My sweet children," she whispered, her voice hoarse. She looked from me back to Dalian, and again. "My time has come."

Grandmother's hand trembled as it lingered on my cheek, wiping away the tears I hadn't realized had fallen. I tried to steady myself, but my chest was tight, my breath shallow, like the air around me had suddenly turned thick, suffocating.

"No," I whispered, my voice cracking. "No, your time can't be up. I've only just found you! I need you. I—I need more time with you." My fingers gripped her fragile hand, my heart hammering in my chest as if the weight of her frailty was threatening to crush me.

Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment, her breath shallow and labored, but when she opened them again, they were filled with a soft, knowing sadness. 

She smiled, but it was a smile tinged with the kind of sorrow that only comes when someone is about to let go of everything they've held dear.

"My sweet Daliah," she whispered, her voice barely audible, but I heard it clear as day. "You were never meant to find me. I... I was already gone, long before you came into my life. But I fought, my child, I fought with every ounce of strength I had... because I wanted to meet you. I wanted to see you, to hold you, to know the one I had carried in my heart for so long."

My breath caught in my throat as I looked into her eyes, seeing the truth of her words. She had been dying long before I even knew she existed. All this time, she had been holding on—fighting against the inevitable, clinging to the hope that one day, I would find her.

"But now," she continued, her voice weaker now, barely more than a breath, "now that I've met you... I can go in peace. I can let go because I've fulfilled my purpose. Death has come for me, Daliah. And it comes with its price."

I could feel the coldness creeping into her skin, her warmth slipping away with every passing second. The air felt heavier, thicker, as if time itself was stretching, pulling us further apart.

"No, Grandmother, please," I sobbed, my fingers clutching hers, as if I could somehow hold onto her soul with my grasp. "You can't leave me. I need you."

"'Tears don't bring the lost back," she quoted, her voice growing quiet, "but strength does. Live with purpose, and honor the memories with joy, not sorrow.'"

Her lips parted in a final, bittersweet smile. She didn't say anything more, but her gaze lingered on me—soft, filled with love—before she turned to Dalian and cupped his face with her other hand. 

And then, with a final breath, her body relaxed, her hand growing limp in mine. The world around me fell silent as if even the earth itself was mourning the loss.

Her death came in a quiet, unremarkable way—no grand gestures, no sudden shifts in the air—just the soft, inevitable surrender to the world that had been holding her for so long.

Was this how death was supposed to be? Was it supposed to be this peaceful? 

I fell to my knees beside her, my hand still holding hers, my chest rising and falling with sobs I couldn't control.

What mattered was that I had lost her. The one person I had finally found—only to have Death take her away, just as quickly.

I could feel the ache of her absence settle deep in my bones, the weight of the little memory I have of her, weighing heavily on me, pressing me, suffocating me. 

Arms came around me, holding me. I buried my face in Dalian's neck and wept, loud and ugly. The sound was muffled against his neck but was still loud.

I balled my hands into fists around his shirt, my body shaking. My hair grew wet from where Dalian's placed his head, and his own body trembled. 

I had only known her for barely a day while he had known her all his life. This was more painful for him than it was for me. 

I picked together my broken heart and pulled away from Dalian only to wrap my own arms around him. He placed his head on my chest and sodded, trying and failing to contain the sound.

"Let it out, Dalian," I said in between sobs. "Don't hold back." 

And he didn't. The sob burst out of him, his body shook even more and my chest grew wet. I cried as I held him, my chin placed on top of his head, my eyes closed. 

We remained that way even when people came to take my grandmother's body away, but our sobs had subsided. 

"We'll put her to rest tonight," Dalian whispered, his voice hoarse. 

A young girl entered the room and silently placed a folded dress on the bed before she left. 

Dalian pulled away from me and stood, holding out his hand to raise me. "Come, let's go prepare." 

I said nothing and accepted his hand. He picked up the folded dress and placed it in my hands. Without a word he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.

I changed into the dress, a gown made from soft, tanned animal hide, draping loosely over my body, with fringed edges and beads sewn along the seams. 

I didn't bother to do anything with my hair or even my swollen face and just left the room. 

Darius was waiting there when I came out. 

I ran into his arms and buried my face in his chest, another sob tearing from me. 

He said nothing and just held me, his silence comforting enough. 

Dalian came out and I pulled away from Darius. He nodded at the door without a word and I followed him outside the tent, my hand in Darius'.

We got outside and Mia was there. She walked to me and pulled me gently into a hug, kissing my cheeks. She squeezed me gently before she pulled away and did the same to Dalian. 

The night was thick with silence as we gathered around the fire. The flames crackled and danced, casting flickering shadows on the villagers' faces. 

Grandmother's body, wrapped in simple cloth, was placed on the pyre, the scent of wood and herbs filling the air. 

Dalian, his face grim, lit the torch and held it over the flames. As the fire took hold, the smoke rose, curling into the dark sky like a prayer. 

A hum went up in the crowd. Soon the whole crowd was singing in a language I didn't understand, Dalian including, as we all watched the flames consume her, the heat fierce against the cool night, our hearts heavy with grief, and the loss of her warmth.

Tears rolled down my eyes silently and Darius held me all through. I rested my head on his shoulder and one of his arms held me. 

My grandmother was gone. I had hoped I could have more time with her, but Fate, once again, was quick to take that away from me. I could ha–

"They're here!" a voice distrusted the peace. "They're here!"