The Sunspire For in his eye were stars that burned

For some reason, Olive had expected Rannoch to immediately see through her series of untruths to glimpse at the wolf that laid underneath: a selfish one, who hoarded the truth, who worried for no others than her immediate family. Perhaps Arturo, and the rest of the council of Teaghlaigh, had been right in their previous condemnation of her and her kin. She acted in her own self-interest, as reluctant as she was to admit it, she sometimes acted at the risk of the pack who had taken her in and sheltered her.

Was Sunspire really at risk? No [especially now that Dakarai and his shit luck were no longer an unending issue], but as far as the druid was concerned, her family was. Where would Cassiopeia be if she were expunged from Sunspire’s ranks for doing nothing more than filling her karmic duty? That wouldn't happen, not if Olive could help it. 

Because of this, Olive could not be more appreciative of Rannoch’s next suggestion: to find her daughter and figure out exactly what happened and where they would go from here. They needed alibis, and Olive honestly wanted to hear the star-speckled girl’s explanation of this tragedy, and those things could only be discussed in person. Though Cass’s scent was pungent around the crime scene, the blood that spilled had not been hers. This was something a mother would know, but might be hard for those who had not carried the girl in her womb. As far as Rannoch and Terance knew, Cassiopeia was injured and in need of help. 

Olive’s heart ached at the mention of Dakarai’s body decomposing far from their borders, far from her. What an unfitting end, she thought, to a man who deserved much better. Dakarai was not without his faults, but he was not an evil man as her leadership currently believed. It was disrespectful to Dakarai’s memory, but that’s all it was — a memory. The saying was true: dead men tell no tales. Dakarai was not going to tell the truth of the events that occurred that day. Neither would she, and neither would Cass. Olive knew Dakarai and somehow understood that he would want her to sacrifice the sanctity of his cadaver for the safety of the rest of her family — he had wished it with his dying breath.

Without a word, but with a stab-stab-stab in her heart, Olive nodded and grit her teeth. She glanced momentarily at Seabreeze, appreciating the role she was playing in this tragedy — then, she was gone.