Chapter 2
Seren
“You’re not going, Seren.” The strain in Father’s voice was unusual, and I almost paused while shoving one of my mother’s old books into my pack.
I didn’t though—didn’t slow down.
Wrapping a whetstone in a cloth, I settled on my bedroll. “If you give me that line about this not being a place for women again—”
“It’s not.” Father sat and set his callused hand on mine. “Trust me. Gods, it’s hardly a trip for men. Liriens will kill any Viori man on sight. But a woman, especially one your size …”
I glared at him. “Which is precisely why I should go. I’m the one who failed Esme. I live with the sound of her screams in my dreams. Me. And you want me to sit idly and let you pay the price for my failure? That’s bullshit.”
Haunting sadness pooled in my father’s eyes. “It’s my duty to protect my children.”
“Then why are you allowing Madoc to go?”
Across the tent, sitting in front of the small stove, Madoc raised a scarred brow at me. He continued sharpening a knife, his brown-eyed gaze wary. Only Esme had inherited my father’s green eyes. The rest of us had Mother’s dark ones.
Tara and Mother entered, carrying food stores from the underground cellar. “Is she still at it?” Tara asked, then tossed some longer strands of closely-cropped dark hair from her cheek.
“Hasn’t shut up yet,” Madoc said flatly. The whetstone rasped against his knife, a grating reminder of the tools he would carry to save Esme—and the tools I wouldn’t.
This argument had gone on for nearly a month, since Esme had been taken. I knew the man’s name now—Lethos Scalari, an Ederyn spy. He’d captured Esme to force my father into surrender, no doubt aiming for the sizable Lirien bounty on his head.
How he’d found us … that part terrified me.
For twenty-five years, the Viori had kept us safe. Despite my parents’ continued love for Ibarra and Pendara, we’d been protected. But now, someone had betrayed us.
Lethos had found Esme and me with shocking accuracy. The ease with which he and his men had gotten in—and out—of our territory suggested inside help.
“Even if your father relented, Seren, Lord Haldron has not permitted you to go into Lirien. Only Madoc and your father.” Mother sat on my other side, sympathy on her face. “We all want to help. I’m as desperate as you are to bring Esme home.”
A guttural growl of frustration left my lips. Viori laws had already delayed our ability to rescue Esme. My father, Madoc, and Tara had gone after her the day she was taken, heading toward the Ibarra border where Lethos claimed to be taking her.
The Vangar at the border had turned them back.
Going into Lirien was forbidden. When my father had tried to go on without permission, they’d arrested him for rebellion—a crime punishable by execution.
Only Tara and Madoc’s determination had allowed them to take him back to Emberstone and plead his case before Lord Haldron.
Whatever debt my father owed Haldron, the price would be high. But Father hadn’t shared the details of his deal.
“I’m just as angry about it as you are,” Tara said from beside Madoc. “But you don’t hear me arguing. Like it or not, Madoc is stronger and faster than either of us. Especially you. That’s why Father picked him.”
I stood and glowered at my father. “Father picked him because he has a cock. He’s made that clear enough.”
Father reached into my pack and removed the spell book I’d just packed.
Standing, he held it out. “If you want to help, stay here and study this. You are more than just one thing, Seren. Being Unbound since infancy means you can cultivate this skill, but you’ve focused so much on being a Vangar warrior that you’ve lost sight of your other gifts.
Study this, and you’ll be what I need the next time I face a dangerous mission. ”
His words struck like a fist to my chest. My throat tightened, but I refused to let him see how much it stung.
Even Madoc blew out a low whistle.
“I haven’t lost sight of anything.” I yanked the book from his hands and shoved it back into my pack. The leather strap bit into my shoulder as I slung it over me.
I stormed out of the tent before anyone else spoke, anger churning in my gut. What does he know?
Father had always been affectionate. The days when I might have curled into his arms beside the stove on a brutal winter’s night were long gone, but he doted on us all.
He didn’t know how I always took my mother’s spell books, studying Ibarran spellcraft.
Maybe I wasn’t as gifted as my mother was, but I could hold my own. With simple spells, anyway.
The cold autumn air stung my cheeks, the scent of damp leaves and earth sharp in my nose. I tugged my woolen scarf higher, my breath misting in the moonlight.
Tara had easily resigned herself to Father’s decision. But she commanded her own Vangar squadron now. Maybe she felt needed here.
Tara also had the advantage of not being weighed down by guilt. I’d brought this upon our family.
I hurried down the well-worn path through the woods to the Vangar tents, stationed near the border of the tribe’s encampment.
My friend Amahle would be in the officers’ barracks, which, like most common areas among our tribe, were just larger tents maintained by the community.
Amahle knew me better than anyone, and I desperately needed her advice before I did something rash.
Soft footsteps approached.
My heart stumbled at the sight of Seth.
His jet-back hair shone in the moonlight, the pale skin of his arms bearing fresh tattoos on his well-muscled left forearm. Zhi men tattooed dragon outlines on each arm at fifteen. With each man they killed, another section of the dragon was inked in, symbolizing their growing strength and rank.
Seth’s dragon was nearly complete.
The sight unsettled me. Seth’s ascension had been swift and brutal, his ambitions growing faster than the ink could fill.
Despite looking down on my family’s devotion to their realms, he clung to Zhi traditions. The one dictating he could never marry a woman who wasn’t Zhi most of all.
Maybe I should have known. But at twenty, it never occurred to me that he’d take my heart in secret while planning to marry my friend, Darya.
I’d learned of his engagement the same day he married her. He’d spent the previous night with me.
I did my best to avoid Seth now. My friendship with Darya had suffered, though I didn’t blame her—she’d never known I loved him.
Somehow, that made my guilt worse, especially when she noticed the cooling of our friendship.
Three years had mostly healed my wounds, but avoiding Seth and Darya was impossible, since he was our Viori tribe’s leader—the waldren, our leader.
Seth reached me in a few strides. “Going somewhere at this early hour?”
“I’m free to come and go, aren’t I?”
He blocked my path. “You know, you could look me in the eye occasionally.”
“No, thank you.” I moved to step around him.
He caught my elbow. “Seren, please. I’m worried about you.”
His grip was firm, his callused fingers rough against my skin. The faint scent of leather and smoke clung to him, a reminder of the nights I’d once spent in his arms.
I yanked myself free, jutting my chin up as I searched his rugged face. I hated that I still found him attractive—but in a repulsive way, like a food I’d once enjoyed but got sick from. “I’m fine.”
His full lips twisted. “Your sister was kidnapped, you were attacked, and now your father and brother are leaving the tribe for gods know how long. You’re my responsibility, Seren. You’re part of this tribe, and as its waldren, I—”
“You don’t care about me, Seth.” My voice was ice. “You made that clear enough.”
“That’s not true.” He hesitated, searching my gaze. “I know I hurt you. I’ve made mistakes, but I’ve never stopped caring for you. What we had—”
“What we had was a lie,” I snapped, my anger bubbling to the surface. “It was always about your ambition. Darya’s family had wealth and connections, and that’s all you wanted.”
He flinched, just barely, and for a moment, I thought I saw regret. Then his expression hardened. “You don’t understand the sacrifices I’ve made for this tribe—for all of us.”
“Oh, I understand plenty.” My voice turned to steel. “You’ll sacrifice anything—anyone—for power. Don’t pretend it’s for us.”
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t deny it. “You can hate me all you want but I’ve done more for this tribe than anyone else.”
“Well, maybe it’s time for a change. Maybe someone else would do your job better. Someone like my father. Or maybe even me.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Only if you feel threatened.”
The low hoot of an owl reminded me of the early hour—how isolated we were out here on the path. Maybe I was a fool for pushing him, but I would be damned if I let him pretend he cared.
Seth’s fingers twitched at his side, as if restraining himself. “You have no idea what this job requires.”
I laughed bitterly. “You think you’re some great savior? You’re a coward, Seth. You betrayed me. You betrayed yourself. And you expect me to respect you for it?”
His expression darkened, and his fingers curled into a fist before relaxing again. “You should be careful what you say, Seren. As waldren, I can make life very difficult for you. I could make you untouchable—not out of respect, but fear. No man in this tribe would dare defy me. Not for you.”
The threat hung between us. My heart pounded, but I refused to let him see my fear. I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “Do it, then. Show everyone what kind of man you really are.”
Something flickered in his eyes—anger, frustration … and something else. Regret, maybe? Or doubt.
He reached out, as if to touch my cheek, but I slapped his hand away. “Don’t. You don’t get to pretend anymore.”
His hand dropped, and for a moment, he looked almost vulnerable. Then the mask returned, his expression callous.
“You’re making a mistake,” he said quietly. “You don’t want me as an enemy, Seren.”
A cold knot formed in my stomach, but my cheeks burned with anger. I met his gaze, unflinching. “You already are.”
I hurried away, no longer toward the Vangar barracks, but down a different path—one that would take me as far from him as possible.
When I was certain he couldn’t see me, I broke into a sprint, running headlong into the darkness.
My boots pounded against the uneven path, scattering gravel, sending echoes through the forest. The wind stirred the branches overhead, the only sound besides my labored breathing.
The Viori were supposed to offer freedom for Lirien’s oppressed and desperate.
For my parents, it had been the only choice.
Lirien law dictated that twins be murdered at birth, thanks to the Rúna that wove all fates.
Legends held that the Rúna destined one twin for goodness and the other for evil—but no one knew which was which.
My parents had chosen exile over watching their children be killed. Free, Unbound, and away from Lirien’s oppression.
Supposedly.
Seth had shaken my trust in the Viori, and powerlessness pressed down on me. Esme, my family—there was nothing I could do.
I peered through the branches at the moon, its silver light spilling across the forest like a distant promise—a reminder of how far Esme was, and how far I’d have to go to bring her back.
The crisp air sent a shiver through me, but I straightened my shoulders, letting the cold sharpen my resolve.
I can follow Madoc and Father to the border.
I’d need to be careful. One misstep, and Father would send me back, or worse, Seth would find me first. I’d pack light—just enough to keep pace without being noticed.
A blade, a spell book, and enough food to reach the border.
Once there, I’d be on my own, where even the shadows of the forest couldn’t promise safety.
Either way, I wasn’t staying behind.