A Princess Torn (Alys Book #2)

Chapter 25

Endolynn could not remember ever taking someone's life before.

She was not sure if she had passed out due to exhaustion, pain, or shock; she figured it was a bit of all three.

Now, she sat on a cut log outside her hosts' home, letting Hatti carefully wipe a cold wet cloth across her face, trying to remove the dried blood of the soldiers that had been slain.

Endolynn avoided Hatti's eyes, feeling a small amount of shame at how brutal she had been.
But had she had a choice?

No, I did not. Surely, they would have killed Hatti and Mr. Red. And I myself would have suffered much worse than death.

The barn had burned to the ground minutes after all the fighting had stopped. Endolynn could see its smoldering remains over Hatti's shoulder. Mr. Red passed in front of it, running his hand through his hair every once and a while and shaking his head.

Endolynn felt terrible beyond words. How in the skies would their family survive such a loss to their humble homestead and source of income?

Endolynn blinked back tears. Somehow, she would make it right. Though she did not have the same standing and power here in Tarkam as she had in Balear, she was certain that she could convince Dastrehan to help out this generous family that had more or less saved her life by taking her in.

"It's going to take a long time for me to dig holes big enough for these here...men," Mr. Red said as he approached the two women, "I guess I best get started."

Endolynn frowned in response, noting that it was far too large of a task for the man to complete by himself by the night's end. Endolynn was in no shape at all to help him, and Hatti should be spared the horrors.

And was burring them the smartest idea? Endolynn has seen at least two messenger birds fly away during the short time the soldiers had been on Mr. Red's property. It was extremely likely that they were sent to report back their approximate location to Royce. If she sent more men and they found a bunch of graves, it would be hard for Hatti and Mr. Red to pass as innocent.
Endolynn sighed. It will be a miracle if they get out of this at all. Royce will send men for sure when the others do not return.

No, burring the remains would not do. The dogs that had fled as soon as the fighting broke out would return with new men and be able to smell the corpses. Something else must be done to ensure there were no remains left at all.

She wished Dastrehan would come to tell her what to do so she did not have to make the decision. But it would likely be another week or more before his men would arrive. And surely he would not be with them.
No, it was up to her. After all, she was the one responsible for this nightmare.
She gently put her hand up to stop Hatti from tending to her injuries and slowly stood, breathing through the protests of pain her body threw at her.
"We cannot bury them," she said grimly, still not able to meet anyone's gaze, "We need to burn the bodies and then bury the ashes."

Mr. Red and Hatti looked at her in shock and horror.

"You cannot be-" Hatti began, but Endolynn cut her off, standing firm,

"We have to burn them. If we bury them, the next group of men will find them. And I will not be able to take them all out again. There will be many more than this group was. I cannot leave any evidence of what has happened here, or they will kill you both."

Though he still looked shocked, Mr. Red agreed grimly.
"The barn is still burning. I guess we can throw them on there."

Endolynn nodded and took a steading breath before moving towards the fallen men. As painful as it would be, physically and emotionally, she needed to help. All of this was her fault, her mess.
As she and Mr. Red moved the bodies and tossed them onto the burning embers of the barn, she tried not to look at their faces. But as Mr. Red threw more hay and wood in to make the fire burn hotter again, she knew that she did not have to look at their faces anyway.