Chapter 286: Two Days

Two days.

Two days had passed since Dad left and Sassy...

Since Sassy died.

It took me that long to even be able to say it in my head without breaking down into sobbing tears so hard I couldn't breathe.

Almost as bad? Mom couldn't reach Dad. I tried too, but now the crystal was gone, I found it impossible to tear through the veil. And without Theridialis waiting on the other side to pull me over, I was out of luck.

We tried not to worry. "Your father was fine when he left. He looked fine to you, didn't he, Syd?" Mom was as big a wreck as I was. If we weren't crying over Sassy, we were crying over Dad.

Meira was oddly the most stable of the three of us. Was she upset? Naturally. But she seemed able to control her grief better and instead ended up taking care of the two of us as we tried to come to grips with Sassy's loss.

I munched popcorn that tasted like ashes, drank water that did nothing to quench my thirst. Mom managed to keep the coven running, mostly because Erica stepped