Her heart beat faster as she followed a familiar path through the obelisks. She stopped in front of one at last, taking in the cuneiform writing. Each obelisk listed the members of an immortal household and their offspring. Servants-which her father and mother had been-were listed on the House of their immortal lords. This immortal House had been somewhat lowly on the immortal totem pole, evidenced by the fact it was a third the height of most of the others.
Jenn squatted to find the servants' portion of the records. She wiped dirt from the grooves of the cuneiform.
"Midu, Tanna," she read the names of her parents out loud. Her gaze followed her finger as she rested it on her name below theirs. She touched the two names beside hers. "Finian, Talia."
The name of her long-dead daughter was the end of her family's lineage. Thousands of years later, Jenn could still see her daughter's brown eyes and curls. She released a deep sigh, finger lingering on the names from her past. For all her ability to manipulate the minds of others, she couldn't push the memory of her family from her own thoughts. She'd buried them under the callus she'd grown around her emotions.
She sat in front of the obelisk, staring at all that remained of her family history. The Schism hadn't changed everything; she'd thrown everything away. Her marriage was arranged. Unable to love her husband, she'd taken it out on the one who meant the most to her, Talia.
Pulling a knife free, she dug into the dry ground, not expecting to find the treasure she'd buried so long ago. To her regret, it was there: the leather necklace and its silver symbol that had marked her family line. She'd given it to Talia before she left then reclaimed it after the first wave of the Schism ripped through the Immortal world.
Jenn didn't let herself remember the sights and sounds of that day. No one knew the Schism was coming when she stormed out of the house that fateful morning. She'd left them both to pursue a position among the Guardians, so she could start a new life in the mortal world.
"I got my wish," she murmured.
When the world began to crumble, she returned to find the house in ruins and the body of her dead daughter in the arms of her father-in-law. If she'd stayed, she might've died with them. Or maybe she could've saved them.
I'll never know. Sadness had long since waned, leaving only a hole that'd never be filled. She'd sworn never to be vulnerable again or to become emotionally involved with anyone.