HAZEL
I stared at the body longer than I meant to, like if I stood there long enough the scene might rearrange itself into something less final. The sentinel's eyes were still open, fixed on the painted ceiling as though he'd found something interesting in the wolves and moons and battles stretched across the plaster. The murals looked grand from a distance, heroic even, but up close they were cracked and yellowing in places. I noticed that now because I needed something else to look at. Anything but the way his neck bent wrong against the marble.
