Livia pressed her lips together. "You have a tale as well as I do. She saved Emmett, Annamarie, and Jack, who you know all too well."
Darius leaned forward, keeping his gaze square on his cousin. "I decided not to bore you with the details unless you would like me to pull out the full report of what happened?"
Her silence answered for her. Darius took it as a no. He leaned back, resting his chin on his palm as a long breath escaped him.
"I sent Emmett on a grand journey, and you know the man is stubborn...but he would never disappoint."
Livia gave a single nod, her brow slightly furrowed as she listened.
"And so what was the right course of action? He took his daughter, who has so much potential, and Beatrice’s son, Jack, on this expedition to learn much. I approved that. I looked over the budget, the routes, and I put trust in my scoutmaster," he continued.
He pushed himself up from the chair and placed his hand behind his back, and looked down on his cousin. "Emmett fulfilled his duties and continued to report back to me until one day I never heard from him again. You know how horrible it would have been to have people find out that the scoutmaster passed at the hands of the wild, or even worse, rogues."
Darius walked to his large window and ran his hand across the glass, of course it was spotless. He turned back to Livia and paced around.
"Beatrice would have gone mad with grief, and you know we need her close to our side."
At the sound of those words, Livia looked down briefly and gritted her teeth. She lifted her chin and squeezed her hands tighter together.
"And nothing we could have done would have mended that problem quickly," Darius continued. "Not in the way we would have hoped. So I’ll do a little thinking for both of us..."
He leaned in just slightly, voice lowering. "Imagine if Dawnbreak arrived amidst such a crisis."
Whatever it would take to make his argument sound logical to Livia, he would do it. He had to fill out the narrative in broad strokes and leave Livia to paint in the little details. If he could do that, then he would be able to get her off Serena for the time being.
There it was, the reaction Darius had hoped for. Livia’s shoulders relaxed, and her posture was less guarded. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
"Serena was out," he said, softer now, "and she offered a helping hand to Emmett. For five days, she sheltered them, fed them, nursed them... and she saw them safely home. At the expense of her own body."
Darius perched on the edge of the desk, hands resting loosely at his sides. He stared at Livia, he observed her careful.
A little pang of guilt squeezed his heart. This was one of the many costs he would pay, he told himself. This was a crucial moment to him, and he could not bear to see anyone of the women he cherished break down again.
"I have been with her and so have you. Has she attacked anyone? Please tell me, I do not take such matters lightly, so tell me, Livia. What have you seen?" Darius asked.
It was a double-edged sword, yes, he was concerned, but beneath it was certainty. He already knew Serena was incapable of harm. She wasn’t the temptress or scheming threat Livia had built her up to be. Calmly, he brushed invisible dust from his trousers, his gaze unmoving as he waited for her answer.
Livia remained still, a slow exhale escaping her lips. "Do you trust me, Darius?"
His brows lifted slightly. "When have I ever not?"
"For a long time now," she said, voice tightening, "you have shunned the voice of reason. You’ve shut me out, all for a rogue?" Her expression twisted with something raw. "I cannot believe this. It pains me that I must constantly come here, begging you to listen, like some common petitioner. Is that what I am to you now?"
Darius folded his arms and raised a brow. He could clearly see what she was doing now. It was a desperate attempt to sway his opinion.
"You don’t even believe your words," he murmured.
"Does it matter when this is how I feel?" she snapped, rising so quickly that the chair behind her scraped harshly against the floor and teetered on one leg before settling.
She placed both hands on her head like a woman warding off a migraine. "I won’t recount the tale because you know it too well. You know it better than Nana. But you disgrace Ironshade by elevating our enemy to this level."
Darius’s hand came down on the table with a sharp crack. The sound startled her. She recoiled instinctively, eyes widening as her mouth parted in surprise.
"I am tired of all forms of this conversation," he said, his voice splintering with emotion. "I... Is it so hard for you to understand me?"
"I cannot understand you because you have gone mad," Livia spat.
He stared at her for a long moment. "Are you sure?"
Livia blinked, caught off guard by his tone. Her eyes scanned his face now, slower, searching. His features were oddly softened. The usual scowl that drew deep lines into his forehead had faded. Even the habitual sigh that once punctuated every disagreement had not come.
Something had changed in him.
You of all people should know that you’re making a mistake that will cost you your life.
It was what Livia had told him the last time they had this sort of confrontation. It came to him now. He had been accused of so much more, but maybe, truly, after all, he was his father’s son.
"I..." Livia trailed off.
"Perhaps I am," Darius interrupted with a hollow laugh. "I think I have. And you said it will cost me my life..." He turned his gaze back to her, eyes gleaming. "I think it’s time for me, is it not?"
Livia stared at him, lips parting. "What are you saying?"
He stepped closer "I like her, Livia," he said, quietly but with conviction. "I like her a lot."