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Her foot finally makes contact that matters as she flops around, and Garrett releases her with a grunt. Serena is halfway across the room before she looks back, unable to stop herself from checking to see if he's okay, even if he did deserve the accidental kick to the balls.

"Damn it," Garrett groans, bracing his hands on his knees and letting his head drop while he pulls in deep, calming breaths.

"I didn't mean to kick you there," Serena tells him, her words clipped and still angry, but her eyes are full of concern she can't hide. He waves her off, knowing damn well that she didn't; none of us would ever believe she did that on purpose—that's just not who she is.

"Maybe next time you won't try to hold me against my will," Serena snaps, folding her arms over her chest, clearly still upset.

"Doubt it," Garrett gasps through his clenched teeth as he pushes to stand, slowly. "Fuck, Rena, you got me good." He rubs at his crotch, and I watch Serena's eyes dart down to follow the movement, her cheeks turning red.

"I didn't mean to!" she hisses, balling her fists at her sides and stomping her foot, but making no move to go near him again.

Garrett’s hand glows, and I bet he’s thankful for his healing powers now. He chuckles at Serena’s obvious embarrassment, and though it sounds strained, I know he doesn't actually hold it against her. No, it looks like he's trying to distract her, and it's working, for now.

As if she can hear my thoughts, Serena turns to look at one of the few windows, and I swear I can hear the wheels in her head as she contemplates what to do next.

"The smoke looks like it's coming from one of the villages." Sol takes a step toward her but doesn't get too close or attempt to touch her, clearly having learned from what Garrett just dealt with. He's always been cautious, especially when it comes to Serena, but I know she wouldn't mind his touch right now; I can see it written on her face.

"We have to help them," she says, turning to look around the room, daring any of us to say otherwise.

It's on the tip of my tongue to tell her we can handle it and for her to wait here for us to come back for her. I want to keep hersafe and protected, have Garrett fly her back to the castle while we handle whatever this fresh new hell is, but I know that won't happen.

We left Serena last time, and it didn't do a lick of good. We almost lost Sol, and Lyle put himself in the way of Draven's attack to save Garrett.

Serena is stronger than any of us. I always knew she was, with everything she'd been through, but this, this is different. She's not just resilient; she's physically stronger than us, maybe all combined. I've seen her shadows, the way they respond when she really needs them, and I have no doubt she could handle Draven on her own if given the chance.

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure he knows that as well, which is why he was so quick to disappear last time he pissed her off.

We're the weak links here, not Serena.

"And we will, but let's not be rash. Last time we went in fast and hard, and we underestimated them. The consequences weren't worth it. I won't make that mistake again," Garrett says, his hands fisted at his side, his jaw clenched.

"I'm com—"

Serena snaps her mouth closed, cutting herself off when Garrett meets her gaze. His eyes blaze full of anger and other emotions I can't place, his usual calm and collected attitude missing in the face of losing more people.

"If you're coming with us, we have to be smarter than that."

Serena's eyes go wide, and she's not the only one. That was damn near the last thing I expected to come out of his mouth, but I can't say I disagree. I just thought it would take a lot of convincing to get us on the same page.

Though that doesn't mean we're all in agreement.

"Are you out of your mind?" Storm shouts, looking first at Garrett and then at me as if I'm going to be on his side. He should know better.

When he doesn't get the response he hoped for, he turns to Sol and then Pike.

"Did you all forget what happened last time?" Storm seethes, looking around at each of us before he stops on his brother. "You almost died."

The fight seems to leave him, replaced with worry as he turns to look at Serena. "We've almost lost both of you now, and we did lose Lyle." Serena looks down at her feet, but I see the sadness in her eyes before she can bury it.

"I can't keep losing people I love," Storm says, his voice shaking as he almost pleads, for what I'm not sure.

We can't give up on the people we love, and we can't guarantee nothing else bad will happen.

All we can do is keep trying, not giving up on each other.

Serena takes a tentative step forward before she seems to think better of it and stops, a frown pulling at her lips.

Her eyes find mine, and I see the war she's waging with herself. Serena and Storm have been at odds for a little while, only just recently getting back to normal, but things are still a bit strained. She doesn't want to overstep, but I think that's exactly what Storm needs right now. We all need each other.