Chapter Ninety-Five
The Funeral
The country house. Three days after the original Katerina's death. Morning.
The garden was transformed.
Flowers everywhere—roses, lavender, honeysuckle, and wildflowers that the original Katerina had loved. String lights crisscrossed above the trellis. Candles flickered on every surface. The air smelled of blooming things and goodbye.
Everyone was there.
Lilith and David. Marcus and Eleanor. Maya. Delia and Morrison. Priya and Cole. Irene and Patel. Lena and Maria. The younger Katerina and Sam. All the servants, all the friends, all the family.
They stood in a circle around the altar.
On the altar, a simple wooden box.
Inside, the ashes of the woman who had started everything.
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The ceremony – Irene.
Irene stepped forward.
She was old now—her hair white, her hands gnarled, her eyes dim. But her voice was still strong.
"Dearly beloved," she said, "we are gathered here today to remember Katerina. The first hunger. The mother of monsters. The woman who started everything."
"She was not perfect. She made mistakes. She hurt people. She was hungry."
"But she also changed. She learned to give instead of take. To love instead of consume. To live instead of just exist."
"She died as she lived. Not as a monster. As a woman. As a mother. As a friend."
"We will miss her. We will remember her. We will love her."
The crowd was quiet.
Irene stepped back.
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The ceremony – Lilith.
Lilith stepped forward.
She wore a simple black dress. Her white hair was loose. Her hands were steady.
"Katerina made me," she said. "She gave me the hunger. She made me a monster. And for ten thousand years, I hated her for it."
"But then I changed. And she changed. And we found each other again. Not as monster and maker. As equals. As friends. As family."
"She taught me that it's never too late to change. That it's never too late to love. That it's never too late to hope."
"I will miss her. I will remember her. I will love her."
She stepped back.
Her eyes were wet.
David took her hand.
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The ceremony – The younger Katerina.
The younger Katerina stepped forward.
Her hands were shaking. Her eyes were red. Her scars seemed to pulse with old pain.
"Katerina made me too," she said. "She made me a hunter. She made me a weapon. She made me empty."
"And for centuries, I hated her for it. But then I met Sam. And I learned that I could be more than a hunter. More than a weapon. More than empty."
"Katerina didn't teach me that. But she showed me. She showed me that change is possible. That forgiveness is possible. That love is possible."
"I will miss her. I will remember her. I will love her."
She stepped back.
Sam took her hand.
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The ceremony – Marcus.
Marcus stepped forward.
"I didn't know Katerina well," he said. "Not the way Lilith knew her. Not the way the younger Katerina knew her. But I knew her at the end. And at the end, she was kind."
"She was gentle. She was patient. She was loving. She taught me that it's never too late to change. That it's never too late to love. That it's never too late to hope."
"I will miss her. I will remember her. I will love her."
He stepped back.
Eleanor took his hand.
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The ceremony – Eleanor.
Eleanor stepped forward.
"Katerina scared me at first," she said. "She was so intense. So hungry. So broken. But then I got to know her. And I realized that she was just as scared as I was. Just as lonely. Just as lost."
"She taught me that broken things can be mended. That empty things can be filled. That hungry things can be fed. Not with consumption. With love."
"I will miss her. I will remember her. I will love her."
She stepped back.
Marcus took her hand.
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The ceremony – Sam.
Sam stepped forward.
"I only knew Katerina for a short time," she said. "But in that time, she taught me what it means to love someone who is broken. Someone who is healing. Someone who is trying."
"She taught me that love is not about fixing someone. It's about being with them. In the dark. In the light. In the hunger."
"I will miss her. I will remember her. I will love her."
She stepped back.
The younger Katerina took her hand.
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The scattering – The garden.
Lilith lifted the wooden box.
She walked to the center of the garden—where the roses were blooming, where the lavender was fragrant, where the honeysuckle was climbing the trellis.
The others followed.
"Katerina loved this garden," Lilith said. "She loved the flowers. The bees. The life of it. She spent her last months here, watching things grow."
"So we will scatter her ashes here. Among the roses. Among the lavender. Among the honeysuckle."
She opened the box.
The ashes were gray. Fine. Weightless.
"Goodbye, Katerina."
She scattered them.
The wind caught the ashes.
Carried them across the garden.
Across the flowers.
Across the world.
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The gathering – After.
They sat on the lawn.
Food was passed. Wine was poured. Stories were shared.
"Remember when she tried to teach me to garden?" Lilith said. "She kept telling me I was pruning the roses wrong. I kept telling her that I had been alive for ten thousand years and I could prune a rose."
"What happened?" Maya asked.
"She was right. I was pruning them wrong."
Everyone laughed.
"Remember when she tried to cook?" the younger Katerina said. "She set the kitchen on fire. Three times. In one week."
"What did she say?" Sam asked.
"She said, 'I've survived centuries of hunting. I can survive a kitchen.'"
"Did she?"
"No. We ordered pizza."
Everyone laughed again.
And in the laughter, the grief was lighter.
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The evening – Lilith and David.
Lilith sat on the porch swing.
David sat beside her.
The sun was setting. The sky was orange and pink and purple. The world was beautiful.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
"Empty."
"Empty how?"
"Empty like a room after the furniture has been moved. Empty like a sky after the storm has passed. Empty like there's space for something new."
"What kind of something?"
"I don't know yet. But I'm curious."
"Curiosity is good. Curiosity means you're alive."
She leaned into him.
He put his arm around her.
"I love you," she said.
"I know."
"Say it back."
"I love you, Lilith. I love you. I love you. I love you."
"Again."
"I love you."
"Again."
She kissed him.
"I love you too."
The sun set.
The stars came out.
And Lilith—the former goddess, the former hunger, the former monster—sat on the porch swing, held by the man she loved, and felt something she had never felt before.
Closure.
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The garden – Night.
The younger Katerina walked among the flowers alone.
The ashes had settled on the petals. The roses were dusted with gray. The lavender was soft with memory.
"Katerina."
She turned.
Sam stood at the edge of the garden.
"Are you okay?"
"I don't know. I feel... different."
"Different how?"
"Different because she's gone. Different because I'm still here. Different because I have you."
"That's growth."
"It's terrifying."
"Good. Fear means you're alive."
Sam walked to her.
Took her hand.
"I love you," Sam said.
"I know."
"Say it back."
"I love you, Sam. I love you. I love you. I love you."
"Again."
"I love you."
"Again."
The younger Katerina kissed her.
"I love you too."
They walked among the flowers.
The ashes settled.
The world continued.
And Katerina—the former hunter, the former weapon, the former monster—walked through the garden, held by the woman she loved, and felt something she had never felt before.
Hope.
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End of Chapter Ninety-Five