"The ambassador asked for you," Alexander said to Darius.
Darius nodded curtly. His gaze flicked from Alexander to Louis, who was now crouched beside the young boy, gesturing animatedly at the training racks as if nothing had happened.
"Make sure he is dealt with accordingly," Darius said. "Send him into isolation if you see it right." Get full chapters from noᴠelfire.net
Alexander nodded. Isolation would be a fitting punishment. It disturbed him to no end that Serena had just let Louis off the hook like that. A wolf from Crimsonclaw, she had shown herself with how quickly she swept Louis off his feet.
It seemed the man had threatened her from the way she held up her sword to his neck. Alexander wished they had fought. His heart would have leapt with joy seeing the beautiful woman brutalize Louis.
Darius turned and followed the faint, lingering thread of Serena’s scent. It led him around the cluster of houses, toward the tree line where the forest pressed against the settlement.
Serena sat on the steps of a low porch, her knees drawn tightly to her chest, arms wrapped around them. She stared blankly ahead, her gaze lost somewhere among the tall, swaying trees. The wind tugged lightly at the strands of her golden hair, but she didn’t move, didn’t seem to notice.
"Serena," he said softly, taking a seat next to her. He kept a bit of distance so as not to make her uncomfortable.
For a moment, she didn’t acknowledge him. Then she spoke, her voice thin and strained.
"Why did you stop like that?"
The headache had gotten worse, but she feared it was something Feyra had been helping her suppress since she was a teen. No, it could not be, she was just stressed, angry, and tired.
"Well..." he began, forcing a sheepish smile, "I was a bit shocked. You had one of our squad leaders on the ground just like that."
"It was nothing impressive, but you looked-"
Darius laughed, cutting her off. He did not want to hear the word: scared, terrified? Maybe that was why she disappeared so quickly.
Serena’s lip curled up slightly. "I was just confused as to why he would hurt his student."
Darius watched as she clenched her gown, her hands trembling slightly. "Ah, that one... he is strange, but he has produced fine students under him."
"But it is still not fair. He would have struck Ethan, that would have been a heinous injury, or something even worse."
He leaned back on his palms, studying her quietly. "Well, Serena," he said after a moment, "I understand you’ve never had the chance to see warriors trained firsthand. But you are a rogue. You must know how your people fight."
"They are not my people," she muttered bitterly.
Of course, she was still stained with that name, but she could not deny that Darius was right. Rogues did not care if they snuck up on you, taunted you, engaged in whatever tactics necessary to bring you down. It was eat or be eaten in the wild.
Serena sighed and rubbed her temple. She still wanted to believe they would be civilized. Oh, how Cullen and Feyra had changed her way of thinking. She tapped on her knee and watched the birds chirp in the distance.
We are too human-like, we have mixed with those creatures so much that we have started to behave like them.
"Do you have a headache?" Darius asked.
"No, I’m quite fine... it’s just all too much," she confessed, the words leaving her in a soft, weary exhale.
Serena let go of her skirt and stretched out her legs in front of her. For a fleeting moment, the desperate thought rose up like a child’s plea: I want to go home.
She thought otherwise of it. Not only was it a terrible idea, she no longer had a home to speak of.
At least here, even tangled in politics and pretense, she had something to do. Back there, she had only her loneliness, gnawing at her in the dark.
If only she could just be herself without the fear of her life being at stake.
"I am not sure myself. I am a little scared," Serena said.
Darius straightened, his brows knitting together. "Was it Louis? I’ll make sure he gets a hefty fine," he said.
Serena smiled faintly and shook her head, wagging her finger at him like a schoolteacher scolding a mischievous student. She was not so angry at Louis anymore; besides, she never meant to punish him.
"There’s no need for that. I’m not scared of that man," she said. Her voice was steady, but she twirled a loose strand of hair around her finger, betraying her lingering nerves. "It’s just that..." She trailed off, biting her lip.
Darius exhaled heavily, running a hand through his hair. "For Lunara’s sake, spit it out, Serena."
She bit back a smile and shook her head. "The future. I am not sure what to make of it just yet."
Darius rested his chin thoughtfully against his hand, studying her in a way that made Serena shift slightly under the weight of his gaze. He didn’t look away, as if trying to commit every detail of her face to memory.
He felt a little pang in his chest; a delegate from another cardinal pack would be in Ironshade in gods’ knows when. Serena would have to act and be so uptight and play a role that he, himself, could not help her much in.
Everything was moving so fast, of course she would have been scared. He realized then how much he hated this. Hated what he was forcing her into.
Darius swallowed hard, guilt crawling up his spine. Was he rushing her into ruin? Would it have been better to send her away to some safe, distant place?
But the very idea twisted his stomach into knots.
If he lost her, if he cast her into danger with his own hands...he would never forgive himself.
"I’m sorry," he said, his voice rough. He reached out hesitantly, brushing her shoulder with his fingertips. "Everything’s been moving in the blink of an eye, and you’re right in the middle of it. It must be a lot."
"Thank you," she said. "But it’s my fault, really."
Darius tilted his head slightly, the corner of his mouth tugging upward. "I already told you," he murmured, "we’re in this together."
Serena turned her head to look at him properly, her heart giving a soft, traitorous lurch.
Maybe it was the way the afternoon sun slanted through the trees, catching in the stray strands of his red hair.
Maybe it was the sincerity in his voice. Whatever it was, Darius looked different.
Somehow even more handsome than she had dared to give him credit for.
A soft flush warmed her cheeks, but she forced herself to hold his gaze.
"Together," she echoed, the word tasting sweeter than she expected.