As the flames burned higher, they banished the cold from the courtyard and brought a warm light to the space that took the place of the rising sun, still hidden behind the clouds. There was only one final thing that needed doing, something that had hung heavy in Jocelynn's heart ever since Eleanor's funeral.
Ashlynn needed a song to see her on her way… and this time, Jocelynn knew just the one.
Jocelynn opened her mouth, drawing a deep breath, but for a terrible moment, nothing came out.
Her throat was raw from weeping, her chest was tight, and the words she'd practiced in the dark of her chambers felt impossibly far away, as if the song were trapped behind a wall of grief that her voice couldn't breach. The heat of the pyre pressed against her face and the smoke stung her eyes, and for a heartbeat, she thought the flame had taken her voice along with everything else.
