Dragoncrest Cliffs This place of loss

he might as well have been a corpse in the rain, the way the news fell upon him and barely penetrated. the main points were clear: shadess would lead, with sobeille at her side. lafayette given a token role—quite generous, given his gender—

"an' tante chacal?" asked his older sister.

probably dead, like de rest of dem, said lafayette dispassionately—not necessarily meaning to be overhead, but making no effort to conceal his voice, either. 

after all, it wasn't as if it was a stretch. if chacal were still alive, she would be here.

he sucked in a deep breath and let it out in a sigh, feeling as if he'd prefer to just dissolve into the earth, feet first, at this moment. ma fanmi, let dem be safe in your 'ome, he murmured in quiet prayer.