Page 6

CHAPTER 6

SERENNA

S erenna followed Fenn up the narrow stairway to the Aerie’s bedchamber level. Glancing back over her shoulder, she caught sight of Jassyn lingering in the living area below. In the torchlight, shadows flickered across him as he stood at the wide windows, his gaze fixed on the snowy mountainside where the final remnants of night yielded to the first pale strokes of dawn.

It had taken an hour for the venom’s grip to loosen enough for Jassyn to stand—he’d adamantly refused Fenn’s offer to carry him. In the meantime, he’d recounted everything that had happened during the weeks he and Serenna had been apart.

She was stunned to learn that Jassyn and the prince—now wanted by the capital—had openly defied Elashor and the king. Each revelation struck like a hammer, shattering the fragile illusion of the life she’d expected to return to on Centarya. The uncertain future loomed, impenetrable as the twilight pressing against the windows.

But it wasn’t only her own fate that weighed heavily on her. Helpless humans and others like her—those bred for their magic and wielded as weapons—remained shackled under Elashor and the king’s unyielding rule. Their web of power snared countless lives, including those of her mother and brother.

Yet beneath her grief and fear, a strange relief stirred. Vesryn was here, reunited with those he’d thought lost.

Serenna probed the shining nexus between them, but a fortified silence met her—a barricade fully locking away his emotions.

She had no right to intrude, yet Vesryn’s retreat stung. He just needs time to process everything, she told herself, forcing the unease away.

Jassyn’s voice drifted up the stairs, the words carrying a hesitant question. “Are you certain this is the best place for me?”

Serenna halted, glancing down. A soft globe of light hovered around Jassyn’s shoulders, illuminating the scar’s pale seam on his cheek.

“Wouldn’t it be better if I stayed with Vesryn and Mara?” he pressed, fingers twisting around a curl.

Serenna shared a look with Fenn. “Maybe he has a point,” she said.

After Lykor’s violent eruption and sudden disappearance, she couldn’t predict what he might do if he were in Jassyn’s presence again. “What if Lykor—”

Fenn lifted a claw. “I know you’re both worried,” he began, gaze steady as he took in their concern. “But when Lykor disappears like this, Aesar brings them back once the storm has settled—that’s how they’ve always handled it.” He paused, chewing absently at his lip ring. “Lykor wouldn’t abandon us. Not now.”

Serenna nodded as Fenn’s reassurance unraveled some of her tension. The prince’s decision to remain with his mother for the night made more sense now. Mara’s dwelling was near Kal’s—which Aesar preferred over Lykor’s chambers. Clearly, everyone expected Aesar to drag Lykor back.

Fenn beckoned Jassyn upward, a smirk tugging at his lips. “We can share a bed if you’d sleep better with someone at your back.”

Jassyn’s mouth parted, his words caught between confusion and protest.

“You’re staying here with us?” Serenna asked, her lips twitching because she knew Fenn meant every word. As they reached the top of the landing, the circular loft curved around them. Its ring of doors led to various bedchambers—including the one she’d stayed in these past few weeks, a few down from Lykor’s.

Fenn’s expression softened as he took her hand. “Even if you might not need a guard anymore with the reavers gone and your magics restored,” he said, his thumb brushing lightly over hers, “I’m not ready to leave you yet, she-elf.”

A warmth unfurled behind Serenna’s ribs. Had the night not drained her, the feeling might’ve spilled into tears. “I’m not ready for you to leave either,” she whispered, shoving away the haunting memory of his body riddled with crossbow bolts.

Fenn glanced down at the dried blood smeared across his chest, his tattered tunic long since discarded. “And besides,” he continued, eyes flaring with a roguish glint that promised trouble, “Lykor’s showers are far more comfortable than the ones in my clan’s dwelling. Two of us couldn’t fit in those cramped—”

Jassyn cleared his throat in pointed interruption. Fenn only grinned, turning as Jassyn reached the top of the stairs. In one fluid motion, he slung an arm around Jassyn’s shoulders, drawing him close.

“You know,” Fenn said, his voice an inviting purr, “I’m sure we could make room for three if you’d care to join.”

Jassyn slipped from Fenn’s grasp. “I’ll…let you two enjoy the extra space.” His eyes darted to Serenna with a silent plea for intervention. “I should probably get some rest.”

She released a resigned sigh and grabbed Fenn’s claw, steering him toward the bathing chambers. “You’ll get used to him,” she told Jassyn over her shoulder. “Pick any room you like. Except that one,” she hurriedly added, pointing to Lykor’s open door. “On second thought, maybe stay in the one next to mine.”

Jassyn edged toward a doorway, but Fenn didn’t allow him to slink away unnoticed. “Don’t you wish to clean up?”

Jassyn’s hand tightened around the door handle. “I’ll wait until you two are…finished.”

Unbothered, Fenn shrugged.

A sudden chittering mewl drew their attention as Aiko padded out of Lykor’s room. She squinted, surveying the intruders in her tower. In a rustle of leathery wings, she leaned back on her haunches, wiggled twice, then launched into the air. A blur of dark fur, she flew straight at Jassyn, evidently deciding he was most worthy of her attention.

Jassyn’s eyes widened, but he quickly cradled his arms beneath Aiko as she collided into his chest. She planted her tiny paws on his leathers, stretching up to nuzzle under his chin.

“Is this…a vulpintera?” he asked, a chuckle escaping while he stroked the ridge of Aiko’s fluffy back, her wings folding delicately at her sides. “I’ve only seen their skeletons in displays.”

Serenna gave a dismissive sniff, resigned to the fact that the fox-faced bat, as usual, preferred attention from anyone but her. Fenn reached over to scratch the vulpintera’s fuzzy ear, coaxing out a contented purr.

Aiko headbutted Fenn’s palm before she climbed onto Jassyn’s shoulders, curling around his neck. Jassyn started toward his claimed bedchamber but hesitated. “She’s Lykor’s, isn’t she?”

“Lykor can’t begrudge her choice of company,” Fenn assured him.

Jassyn’s brow creased like he was about to object, but his shoulders sagged, mirroring Serenna’s own fatigue. Aiko nudged his cheek, dissolving his reluctance. With the vulpintera draped around him, Jassyn retreated into the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Fenn wrapped his claws around Serenna’s waist and pulled her close. His breath was a warm caress against her ear as he murmured, “Now, where were we?”

The husky words sent a shiver down her spine as she caught onto his intentions. Serenna managed a disbelieving laugh as desire flared through the bond. Hours spent entangled in the volcano’s heart and the chaos of near-death clearly hadn’t dulled his stamina.

“We were getting you cleaned up,” Serenna insisted, gripping his arms. But the moment Fenn’s lips grazed the rapid pulse at her throat, her resolve crumbled, a soft gasp escaping. “And then…” Knees weakening, her voice dwindled to a whisper as Fenn’s fangs skimmed over the area where he’d previously bitten her. “And then we’re getting some sleep.”

Fenn pulled back just enough to meet her eyes, a satisfied smirk curving his lips. “We’ll see.”