{"id":3468,"date":"2018-01-10T00:00:49","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T05:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3468"},"modified":"2018-01-09T18:23:14","modified_gmt":"2018-01-09T23:23:14","slug":"thirty-04-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=3468","title":{"rendered":"Thirty – 04"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This post is from J.T.’s point of view.]<\/em><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d he asked quietly.<\/p>\n

Leinth shook her head slowly, eyes focused distantly. \u201cRegrets,\u201d she whispered. \u201cThat\u2019s all. It wasn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019t really that way, but the words wouldn\u2019t come. He hadn\u2019t been there. He couldn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n

Finally, he found his voice again. \u201cI\u2019m sure she\u2019s forgiven you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps,\u201d Leinth said, his voice soft. Her hands curled into fists and she shook her head slightly. \u201cBut that doesn\u2019t erase what went before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he said slowly. \u201cBut maybe nothing can and sometimes you just have to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell said.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t even shiver at \u00c9riu\u2019s sudden appearance, at the slight chill that raced over his skin that heralded her manifestation. Leinth\u2019s gaze shifted to focus on the ghost for a moment, then she sighed, bowing her head slightly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI presume you agree with him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there a reason I shouldn\u2019t?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Leinth stared at her for a few seconds and then finally shook her head. \u201cNo. No, I suppose not.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00c9riu gave a slight but firm nod. \u201cTruth be known, she has spent more time fearing consequences of what she\u2019s done, whether in grief or through coercion or for whatever reason than she has spent hating anyone for any reason.\u201d<\/em> A faint, weak smile curved her lips. \u201cTeague and Phelan being the exception, I fear.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

A broken laugh escaped Leinth and she shook her head, starting to walk again. \u201cStill. I owe her an apology. And more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen give it to her,\u201d J.T. said softly. \u201cAnd then move on.\u201d He hesitated for a few seconds, then asked, \u201cDo you think I should tell her about Persephone?\u201d<\/p>\n

Leinth paused, her lips thinning.<\/p>\n

\u00c9riu was the one who answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think she\u2019s strong enough to handle the news, yes. Without a doubt, yes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[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 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[240,280,14],"tags":[150,205,171,170,160,166,149,148,168,147,165,146],"class_list":["post-3468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-6","category-chapter-30-book-6","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-eriu","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-j-t-mackenzie","tag-leinth","tag-original-fiction","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-TW","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3468"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3469,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3468\/revisions\/3469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}