Nicholas looked at the soup. Then at Agnes. Then back at Lilith's body.
"I can't," he said. "I can't eat while she's...." He stopped.
"I know," Agnes said gently. "But you need to try. Please."
Nicholas took the bowl with shaking hands.
He lifted a spoonful to his mouth and forced himself to swallow.
It tasted like ash.
But he kept eating because Agnes was standing there watching with tears in her eyes and he could not make her grief worse by refusing.
Sera brought soup to Sebastian and Lucian.
Both of them took the bowls reluctantly and ate mechanically. Not tasting. Not enjoying. Just forcing food into bodies that had forgotten how to feel hunger.
Agnes stood back and watched them eat with tears streaming silently down her face.
