Three days after destroying the demon and I still couldn't sleep through the night without waking up convinced my heart had stopped again, which was inconvenient and also probably trauma but dealing with that seemed less urgent than dealing with the twelve bodies we were burning today.
Twelve casualties from the final battle. Not as bad as fifty-three or twenty-eight but still twelve families getting news that destroyed them, twelve pyres I had to watch burn while my brain counted the total.
Ninety-three. Across all three battles we'd lost ninety-three fighters, and the number had replaced all other thoughts in my head like my brain had decided math was easier than processing grief.
"You don't have to attend all of them." Isabelle's voice came quiet from beside me. "The funerals. People would understand."
People would understand. Maybe. But I was the Hybrid Queen who'd led them into battle and the least I could do was show up when they died for it.
