Chapter 17: Luminous

Siannon recognized the adolescent versions of the men she knew not only from their faces but also from their countenance and conduct. Quinn was tall and serious; Kane looked broody and resentful, and Dylan’s face showed the kindness she had loved so much.

She was curious why so many people had gathered in the Great Hall. The king and his sons wore dark-hued clothing, and as the crowd parted, Siannon saw the cause of the occasion—a coffin embossed with ornate carvings sat upon a table beneath an exterior window opposite the royal family.

Siannon approached the coffin, instinctively avoiding making contact with others despite her immaterial form, and gazed down at the body of Queen Gretchen, her mother-in-law, whom she felt like she had known from the stories that Dylan and his family had told her. King Malcolm told Siannon that her courage reminded him of his wife’s, a comparison that Siannon had always cherished.

Even in death, the queen’s face was luminous, marriage and motherhood having deepened her beauty rather than diminished it. Siannon wished that whatever force was guiding her through this experience had deposited her in Llanfyllin earlier than this day so that she could have seen what Gretchen was like in life rather than have to witness this last sad moment.

Most of all, Siannon wanted to embrace Dylan and his family, the people she loved the most, to give them comfort in their loss. She began to despair ever returning to her own reality.