Serena watched in horror as Livia gave a sharp tug, and the hem of her skirt snagged further on the low-hanging branch until it tore with an audible rip. Livia did not so much as flinch. She simply turned, her icy eyes pinning Serena with a silent warning.
Serena wisely kept her mouth shut and offered only a meek nod as they continued their descent through the pine-fringed path. Where they were headed remained a mystery to her, as always. Livia had only told her to dress simply, keep her questions at bay, and follow.
The path curved, the earth soft beneath their boots, the silence between them only filled with the occasional birdcall. The trees thinned eventually, revealing a glade encircled by tall stone walls and flowering bushes. The steam that rose into the crisp air was unmistakable. Serena blinked.
Livia strode ahead, skirts trailing slightly behind her like shadows. A small wooden house rested to the left, smoke curling from the chimney, but the focus remained on the natural pool that steamed gently in the early light. Smooth stones ringed the spring, their surfaces damp with dew.
"This place is private," Livia said at last, her voice clipped and matter of fact. "Belongs to the Hawthorne line. A few others have the privilege of knowing of it, much less visiting."
Serena blinked again. "We are... here to bathe?"
Livia gave her a long look. "To restore. You will need clarity of thought when the negotiations resume. You should consider this a brief reprieve before the storm resumes its gnashing."
She entered the house without further explanation, and Serena followed, albeit cautiously. She wondered who else might have been here and the long generation of wolves who had bathed before her in these very woods.
Inside was modest but elegant, with clean floors and carved wooden racks lined with linens, soft, woven cloths the color of pale cream, sheer in quality but thick enough for modesty. Livia was already undoing the fastenings of her outer coat.
"Well?" Livia arched a brow. "We are both women, are we not? I’ve no interest in lingering stares, if that is what you’re worried about."
"I’m not-" Serena began, but stopped. There was no use arguing.
She undressed carefully, folding her clothes with practiced ease and wrapping one of the soft linens around her body. It was strange how quickly vulnerability took root, not just in the exposed skin but in the act of following someone into the quiet unknown.
They stepped back outside and moved toward the spring. The heat from the water brushed against Serena’s skin, an inviting balm against the cold air. Livia dipped in first, shoulders barely flinching as she sank into the waist-deep waters. Serena followed, the warmth wrapping around her like silk robes.
They soaked in silence for some time. The wind rustled the trees and the distant call of a hawk echoed overhead. Serena leaned back, letting her body relax for the first time in days.
"This was unexpected," she murmured.
Livia gave a soft hum in reply.
"Thank you... for thinking of it."
Another pause. Livia turned her head slightly.
"You must know," she began, voice low and unreadable, "that your place here is not so fixed as others assume."
Serena’s fingers tensed beneath the water. She had been too comfortable in all her dealings with this woman to realise that after everything it was still Livia. The one who despised her existence from the very beginning.
Livia looked at her squarely now. "You have been granted much grace, Serena. Far more than most in your position would expect. And though you’ve made yourself useful, I wonder if you have considered... alternatives."
Serena stared at her, throat tight. "What alternatives?"
"Returning to your people," Livia said calmly. "If you have any that is, go back in the wild, return to your old life. I am sure you were happier. Happier without all these strange people here telling you want to do and what to not to do."
The steam no longer felt warm. It clung like a shroud.
"You believe I should leave," Serena said, more a statement than a question.
"I believe you have served your purpose," Livia said evenly. "Darius values you, clearly... perhaps too much. But affection does not make a stable court. There is... concern, Serena. Whispers among the elders. You are foreign and spell only doom for us. And worse yet, Darius softens around you."
Serena looked away, trying to gather her breath. "And you?"
Livia was quiet for a moment. Then, "I think you are dangerous, but not for the reasons others whisper. You are a reminder. That this place, Ironshade does not belong to itself anymore. Not in the true sense, the stain of rogues can never be wiped away."
Serena swallowed hard, her voice barely audible. "So I should go."
"I said you had the option to go," Livia corrected, coolly. "I am not casting you out. But should you choose to depart, it would be on your terms. With your head held high. Not dragged by council decision or scandal. I am offering you something clean."
Serena drew her knees to her chest, resting her chin atop them, eyes stinging from more than just the heat. The idea of leaving, of retreating twisted something sharp in her chest. But the deeper wound came from the understanding behind Livia’s words: no matter how long she stayed, to some, she would always be a guest. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novel★fire.net
"May I ask," Serena said after a beat, "why now? Why bring me here to say it?"
Livia leaned back, the water curling around her like shadowed silk. "Because it would be improper to confront you in front of the council. And more importantly... because I believe you deserve to be warned before someone less kind decides to act."
There was something almost kind in the way she said it. Almost.
The two women fell into silence once more, the ripples of the spring lapping gently around them. Serena closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. The scent of mineral-rich water, pine needles, and faint lavender reached her nose. She could not give Livia an answer, not today.
But she would remember the offer and the warning behind it.