Page 22

CHAPTER 22

SERENNA

“ Y ou don’t remember?” Serenna’s voice wavered as she wiped her tears and untangled herself from her friend.

Jassyn had warned her that Velinya was one of the former initiates transformed into a wraith, but the reality hadn’t settled until Velinya had warped across the clearing, colliding into her arms in a crushing embrace.

Velinya, nearly unrecognizable, shook her head, a black curl slipping free from her braid. “I remember the attack on Centarya and then…” Her crimson eyes glowed softly, unfocusing. “Then I woke up in the dracovae stables.”

She cleared her throat and leaned over the apple cart Serenna had been unloading. Her claws hovered, nicking the fruit before she dropped the apples clumsily into the basket at their feet.

Under Mara’s direction, most of the camp’s occupants were processing supplies. Gentle sunlight filtered into the glade through the surrounding canopy, the perfume of blooming flowers hanging sweet in the air.

“Forgetting is a mercy,” Velinya whispered, her expression vacant as she stared at portals opening across the clearing. “All I know is that I feel…empty without my magic. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do now.” Her eyes landed on Serenna before she shrugged. “Survive, I guess. Like everyone else.”

Survive. The word hung between them, thick as the jungle air.

With the fortress fallen, survival was the only thread left to grasp. Serenna didn’t need Aesar’s tally to know the cost of their escape—blood had been the currency, countless lives spent like coin.

The previous evening, Vesryn’s rangers and their dracovae had limped into the jungle, their ranks cleaved in half. But they’d managed to evacuate nearly a hundred turned wraith like Velinya. Jassyn and Nelya’s magus were a surprising addition, but their numbers barely reached a few dozen.

Nearly two thousand survivors from scattered backgrounds were crammed together beneath the canopy, uncertain how to build order from ruin.

But the fractured assembly was slowly knitting together. Thalaesyn, Jassyn, and the healing magus had claimed the hollows of massive trees, transforming them into a makeshift infirmary.

Through the bond, Serenna sensed Vesryn to the southeast, hunting with the rangers and dracovae, while Fenn scavenged farmlands with Lykor somewhere in the northern realm.

Serenna unloaded the cart mechanically, the spoils a product of Lykor’s impatience. He’d all but flayed his warriors with snarls and scathing glowers, herding them through portals before dawn.

He seemed determined to outfit their entire ramshackle camp before noon, raiding the supply lines to Alari with ruthless efficiency. After much grumbling, he’d even reluctantly permitted a handful of magus to join the forays under Kal’s direction.

“Is there a plan?” Velinya asked beside her. She fumbled for a basket in the cart, movements sharp and quick, her body still a stranger.

Serenna bit her lip, searching for words—anything that might offer hope. “Lykor is working on it,” she finally said. An empty answer. “He thinks there will be refuge across the Wastes.”

“And if there’s not? What if the elves find us here first?” Velinya’s crimson eyes caught a shard of sunlight, fear flickering to life. “At Centarya, I barely touched a weapon, and I don’t think I have elemental powers like you and Jassyn.”

Serenna heard her own buried fears reflected back at her. The expectation to be something she wasn’t. In Velinya’s case, taking up arms.

“Not everyone has to fight,” she said, watching the former queen pull order from chaos across the clearing. “You helped manage Vaelyn’s court for years. I’m sure Mara could use you—someone who knows how to hold the seams together.”

Velinya was nodding as Serenna finished. Before she could say more, a burst of activity spilled from a portal at the center of the glade. Fenn’s presence leaped back into Serenna’s mind, the bond blazing brightly from his close proximity.

Essence rippled from his outstretched claw as he walked backward, streams of force dragging loaded wagons through the rift.

Crossing her arms, Velinya released an amused scoff while Fenn’s squadron funneled more supplies into their camp—canvases for shelters judging by the bursting carts. “Typical. Males will always find shortcuts to avoid work.”

Serenna’s lips twitched as Fenn casually hauled another set of carts through the rift with Essence. Lykor emerged when the final wagon rumbled through, flicking his gauntlet to seal the portal shut. Without a word, he stormed through the warriors, carving a path into the jungle.

Fenn flashed Serenna a grin before leaning in to exchange quick words with Mara, who was briskly organizing and doling out the plunder. With his task apparently complete, he then wove through the clusters of wraith processing supplies in the clearing, sauntering toward her and Velinya.

Flinging an arm around Serenna’s shoulders, a ribbon of Essence darted from his fingertips, hooking an apple from the cart and snapping it into his waiting palm.

“This is your friend from your ocean home, she-elf?” he asked, biting into the fruit.

Serenna barely got through the introductions before Velinya’s eyes began to dance with curiosity, flitting between her and Fenn, obviously piecing together a story. Serenna shot her a pointed glance, pressing her lips into a tight line—a silent plea to save the questions for later.

“Koln’s squadron scouted a lake nearby,” Fenn began, squeezing Serenna’s shoulder to draw her closer under his arm. “It’s no Lagoon, but everyone thinks it’ll do.” He took another bite of the apple, eyes on fire with mischief. “We should bring Velinya—and the wraith your princeling collected. After everything they’ve endured, they deserve some proper fun.”

Spluttering, Serenna’s cheeks flamed as she shoved him off. “I’m—I’m not… You can’t even swim!” she shot back, glaring at him. Crossing her arms, she added, “And finding a replacement for the Lagoon was everyone’s first priority?”

Fenn shrugged and Velinya’s delighted laugh rang out. “Are we going tonight?” she asked, fingers steepled over her mouth. “I’ve heard about this…Lagoon.”

“How—?” Serenna started, then clicked her teeth shut. It hadn’t been a full day , but evidently rumors here had already sprouted wings.

Fenn’s jewelry clinked as he raised his brows, his mouth quirking when he glanced down at her in question.

“You—you can go with Koln,” Serenna stammered, heat crawling up to the tips of her ears. Velinya was practically bouncing on her toes, buzzing with eagerness. Serenna flapped a hand at her friend. “And take Velinya so she’s not begging me all night.”

Fenn chuckled, cocking his head as he asked Velinya, “Has she always been this shy?”

“Not shy , exactly.” Serenna’s traitorous friend grinned, the tips of her fangs peeking out as she shot her a sidelong glance. “But back at court, whenever she tried sneaking around her mother’s watchful eye, she got caught. It was a scandal every time.”

With a groan, Serenna buried her burning face in her palms. Now there were two of them—both utterly insufferable.

Fenn snorted, dragging his lip ring between his teeth. Serenna tried to sever whatever calculated jab he was preparing next with a sharp elbow to his ribs.

But that didn’t deter him.

Fenn launched into an exaggerated retelling of the time she’d supposedly ordered him to bite her—though Serenna recalled it differently—before diving into an elaborate explanation of the pleasures of wraith venom. He listed each benefit in painstaking detail for Velinya, who clearly hadn’t realized how effective small doses could be. With sweeping gestures—on Serenna’s body—he pointed out the ideal spots to sink their canines.

A sudden burst of pressure cleaved the air, interrupting Fenn mid-demonstration as he began tracing lower, toward the crease of Serenna’s inner thigh—his favored spot for a bite. Entirely unrepentant, he tossed her a wink before turning toward the colossal portal unfurling at the clearing’s western edge—the space designated for returning rangers and dracovae.

The surface of the rift rippled as Vesryn strode through, silver hair tousled by the wind. Naru followed behind him, tossing his head, feathers and scales glinting with black iridescence in the sunlight.

A booming huff escaped the dracovae, morphing into a series of chattering clacks as he snapped his beak at the prince, making his displeasure known. Secured to his saddle with glowing blue ropes of force, Naru dragged an elk carcass, the massive kill scraping across the ground.

Vesryn led Naru aside as rangers filed into the glade, each dracovae bearing spoils from their hunt. Releasing a sharp trill, Naru stamped a taloned claw, craning his neck to squint while the prince unfastened the saddle.

A light kindled in Fenn’s eyes as he studied Vesryn across the clearing. “I should relay Lykor’s orders about delivering kills to the kitchen area Mara organized to the south.”

Serenna sensed Vesryn’s exhaustion, saw the heavy drag to his movement. But Fenn radiated restless energy. His piqued interest made it clear he’d found his next opportunity to antagonize the prince.

The stolen hours of sleep the previous night had been tense enough. Both males had stubbornly vied for the same spot at her back, as if the forest floor couldn’t accommodate them both.

Serenna bit the inside of her cheek, weighing her options. Caution was the safest course—for Fenn, at least—until they all found a way forward.

“Maybe Lykor should be the one delivering that information,” she suggested, knowing full well that Vesryn wouldn’t tolerate orders from anyone—especially Fenn.

But Fenn waved her off, adjusting his bandolier around his shoulder, focus riveted on the prince. “I still need to see if your princeling secured any of those leather trousers for me.”

With that flimsy excuse, Fenn vanished in a blink, warping across the glade to materialize beside Vesryn.

Naru instantly spooked with an earsplitting screech. His wings snapped out, feathers and scales fanning wide. The dracovae danced in frantic circles, talons snagging in the straps of his loosened saddle.

Serenna rubbed her forehead, a weary sigh escaping as Vesryn darted around Naru, voice low but strained as he worked to free the dracovae’s legs and soothe the agitated beast. She decided that if Fenn pushed the prince too far, it would be his mess to sort out—she wouldn’t intervene.

Velinya edged closer, towering a full head over her now. “How is all of that working for you?” she asked, a knowing smile curving her lips.

Serenna groaned. “I really don’t think it is.”

Freed from his saddle, Naru lashed his tail, prancing off into the trees while Fenn snared the prince in conversation. Frustration poured from Vesryn in sharp waves, crashing against the smug satisfaction rolling off Fenn.

“So you’re entertaining three males now?”

Serenna’s head whipped to her friend just as Vesryn jabbed a finger into Fenn’s chest. “ Three? ”

Velinya twirled a loose curl. “Well, Fenn mentioned another partner and—”

“And Koln is Fenn’s partner,” Serenna blurted, desperate to derail Velinya’s musings.

“If you say so,” Velinya said, tracing the point of a talon as they watched Fenn circling the prince. “It seems like you have your hands full with those two as it is.” She trailed her claws over her hips with a wistful hum. “It’s a shame I haven’t had the chance to test out this form with anyone yet.”

“I don’t see how it would be any different,” Serenna insisted. And then grudgingly admitted, “Well, except for the fangs.”

“Have you thought about…” Velinya trailed off, her teasing unrelenting, “having both of—”

“Don’t say it,” Serenna hissed through her teeth, grabbing Velinya’s arm as though she could physically halt the rest of that outrageous thought.

Her heart raced at the sheer absurdity of it, mortification blazing across her cheeks again, which only sent Velinya into a fit of giggles. The idea of visiting this lake began to seriously tempt Serenna now—if only for the satisfaction of shoving her friend in.

“Everything is complicated enough as it is,” she mumbled, her gaze wandering back to Vesryn and Fenn. The prince stood with his fists clenched, glaring as Fenn’s animated gestures toward his leathers grew more exaggerated. It would only be a matter of time before Fenn started comparing their heights again.

“I’m going to find Jassyn,” Serenna said, snatching a few apples to stage an excuse for her retreat. “I’m sure he hasn’t eaten anything since dawn.”

If Fenn didn’t have an audience, maybe he’d leave Vesryn alone. Or maybe he’d find himself on the receiving end of the prince’s shadows.

Before Velinya could revive the conversation, Serenna hurried into the jungle.