[This post is from J.T.’s point of view.]
J.T. had gone a few steps before he realized that Leinth had stopped walking. He turned back, brow furrowing. Guilt was written all over her face and it made his stomach fold over on itself, bile rising in his throat.
“What?” he asked quietly.
Leinth shook her head slowly, eyes focused distantly. “Regrets,” she whispered. “That’s all. It wasn’t until I said it that it hit me. We stood by. We did nothing. The reasons no longer matter. We are as complicit as the hands wielding the whips and worse. We stood and did nothing.”
J.T. swallowed hard, his mouth dry. He wanted to argue with her. He wanted to tell her that she was wrong, that it wasn’t really that way, but the words wouldn’t come. He hadn’t been there. He couldn’t know.
Finally, he found his voice again. “I’m sure she’s forgiven you.”
“Perhaps,” Leinth said, his voice soft. Her hands curled into fists and she shook her head slightly. “But that doesn’t erase what went before.”
“No,” he said slowly. “But maybe nothing can and sometimes you just have to move on.”
“Well said.”
He didn’t even shiver at Ériu’s sudden appearance, at the slight chill that raced over his skin that heralded her manifestation. Leinth’s gaze shifted to focus on the ghost for a moment, then she sighed, bowing her head slightly.
“I presume you agree with him?”
“Is there a reason I shouldn’t?”
Leinth stared at her for a few seconds and then finally shook her head. “No. No, I suppose not.”
Ériu gave a slight but firm nod. “Truth be known, she has spent more time fearing consequences of what she’s done, whether in grief or through coercion or for whatever reason than she has spent hating anyone for any reason.” A faint, weak smile curved her lips. “Teague and Phelan being the exception, I fear.”
A broken laugh escaped Leinth and she shook her head, starting to walk again. “Still. I owe her an apology. And more.”
“Then give it to her,” J.T. said softly. “And then move on.” He hesitated for a few seconds, then asked, “Do you think I should tell her about Persephone?”
Leinth paused, her lips thinning.
Ériu was the one who answered.
“If you think she’s strong enough to handle the news, yes. Without a doubt, yes.”
