Chapter 28 #2
“And foul my claws with ichor?” Fenn released a snort. Unraveling a cord braided around his wrist, he dropped to a knee. “I doubt you’d be so inclined to plunge your dainty elf hands inside this vermin.”
Point taken, even though my hands aren’t exactly ‘dainty’ anymore.
Serenna ran her elongated fingers over her damp hair, pausing to inspect the black color.
“Would you teach me how to use it? The crossbow? Or another weapon?” She fidgeted with the end of her braid as he tied a knot under the scorpion’s barbed stinger.
“Since Lykor is keeping me tethered, I don’t want to be… defenseless.”
Fenn barked a laugh, making her feel ridiculous for mentioning it.
Why did I ask that? While she might not technically be at odds with the wraith, it wasn’t as if she should expect them to waste time teaching her how to fend for herself.
Serenna scowled at Fenn’s back, preparing herself for whatever he was about to unleash.
Something that sounded like skepticism pitched Fenn’s voice higher. “Defenseless?” He cut a look over his shoulder, eyes ablaze with mirth. “I’ll have you know, Wind Weaver, that I’m still picking shards of that window out of my ass.”
Serenna blinked. Her mouth hinged open with a question but stunned shock deprived her of words.
“What?” Fenn asked, straightening back to his towering height. “You don’t believe you dealt my pride a devastating blow?”
Apparently feeling the need to prove his claim, Fenn twisted around.
Serenna’s eyes popped when he slid the backside of his leather trousers considerably lower than was appropriate, shamelessly revealing much more skin than she was prepared to see.
A ridge of white sutures fanned over defined muscles that he was most certainly flexing.
An unexpected laugh spilled passed Serenna’s lips before she ripped her eyes back to Fenn’s face. Flustered, the points of her ears burned as she battled to keep her eyes on his.
Fenn’s crimson gaze smoldered with amusement as he covered himself up.
“You’re not defenseless. You could snap me in half with a flick of your fingers.
” He demonstrated with some wild motion of his talons.
“I highly doubt my clan has any intention of letting me forget how they sewed my backside together.”
Serenna’s mouth twitched at the thought. Something about his peculiar behavior dislodged a tiny splinter of fear.
“Is everyone in your clan family?” she asked, curious about the social structure of the wraith.
“It’s more of a community—a way of organizing our people. My clan is the largest,” Fenn said proudly, returning to the scorpion. “Luckily, we have talented tailors in our district.”
Serenna’s amusement morphed into guilt from observing his wounds.
“Thank you for intervening in the war room.” She picked at a nail, chipped from helping Aesar clear the rubble while she assembled her thoughts.
“Lykor might’ve killed me or taken the rest of my power if you and that other warrior hadn’t been there. ”
“That wasn’t Lykor’s fault,” Fenn said quickly. Too defensively. “He’s not normally like that.”
Serenna remained silent, unconvinced as she mulled over his claim. Aesar had informed her of the compulsive magic on Lykor and how she’d apparently triggered it by calling out for the prince.
Serenna wrinkled her nose as Fenn hacked off the scorpion’s legs with a long knife before tying the body to his belt. Fearing it was a culinary conquest, she refrained from asking why he was bringing the creature with them.
Fenn popped his knuckles, each crack of his joints making her cringe.
“Let’s get back to the light,” he said. The spilled blood from the scorpion glowed, dripping as it dangled from his waist. “I’d prefer to leave before the rest of its pod arrives to investigate.
I’ll carry you, so we’re not down here until the next full moons. ”
Serenna backed away as he approached. “I—I don’t need to be—” She released a squawk when Fenn scooped her up, stomach tumbling as he lifted her through the air.
Expecting the wind to be knocked out of her when he slung her over a shoulder, Serenna braced herself.
Instead, Fenn carried her in front of him in an equally undignified position, like she was an inconvenient bundle of sticks.
Serenna writhed in his arms, trying to put more space between them. An abnormal heat radiated through his armor, melting the chill in her clammy skin.
A sudden sting had Serenna yelping. Her voice bounced back to her off of the surrounding rock. She rubbed her backside and hissed, “Did you seriously pinch me?”
In the faint glow of the scorpion at Fenn’s side, she caught his lips twitching. “I’ll do it again, she-elf.”
“I didn’t ask you to carry me like this, you lumbering leviathan.” Serenna swatted at him when he attempted to follow through with his threat.
“Then enlighten me as to which position you’d prefer.” The rings looped through Fenn’s raised brows clinked together. “You’re squirming worse than that scorpion and you’re about six legs short.”
Serenna froze in his arms, imagining a horde of those creatures skittering above them.
Obviously feeding her terror, he continued, “There are beasts fouler than scorpions for those brave enough to venture into the belly of our fortress.” Serenna’s skin pebbled at the vulnerability, knowing nothing about this area of the world.
“You wouldn’t want to find yourself alone in the dark with a vulpintera. ”
Holding her breath, Serenna strained to hear anything beyond her frantic heartbeat and Fenn’s boots thudding against the stone. I can’t fathom what kind of creature could be worse.
“And what is a…vulpintera?” she asked in a hushed voice, as if not to summon one. “Do they have even more legs?”
Fenn flashed his fangs in a nasty smile. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
Serenna swallowed, picturing an abomination like a giant spider.
“Lykor keeps one as a pet,” Fenn said, his tone menacing. “I imagine Aiko is quite hungry since she’s missed her last few meals.”
Serenna stiffened so violently that she feared her spine would crack. She laughably clutched the front of Fenn’s leathers, as if she could locate a shred of safety in the wraith warrior.
“See, sitting still wasn’t so difficult,” Fenn said, shifting her. Serenna didn’t appreciate that glimmer in his eyes and his chuckle rumbling through her. “Since you were barely plodding along, I figured you’d prefer being catatonic cargo.”
Serenna crossed her arms, hunching like a disgruntled vulture, silently fuming at the arrangement and stubbornly refusing to be grateful for the warmth.
“So what are you? My personal jailer?” She shot a glare up at him, assuming his wraith vision caught the full effect in the dim lichens starting to carpet the walls.
“‘Nursemaid’ might be a more appropriate term.” He ducked under a cluster of hanging stalactites before ascending a narrow staircase, the steps chiseled into the stone.
“I have plenty of practice, as the stars saw fit to torment me with eight sisters.” Serenna frowned, nearly incapable of imaging someone with so many piercings and weapons entertaining adolescents without frightening them.
“But Lykor tasked me with finding out what else you can do with your earthen magics and if you know anything useful.”
Serenna scoffed, unsure what to do with the admission. “Doesn’t telling me defeat the purpose of you trying to covertly extract that knowledge?”
Fenn’s voice mirrored her own bewilderment. “Who said it has to be a secret?” He shrugged, her body moving in his arms with the motion. “Lykor didn’t specify.”
A flicker of uncertainty sparked and smoldered. No one offered information without a price, a motive, or her prying it out of them. Either Fenn was a brilliant manipulator or he was incredibly straightforward and she’d be wise to figure out which.
Ears perking, Serenna heard water gurgling in the distance. Glowing light crept back into her vision as the tunnel yawned open. She released a relieved sigh that they were about to leave the abysmal darkness—and the scorpions—behind.
At the top of the stairs, Fenn weaved through a dangling curtain of luminous vines, revealing another expansive cavern. Twisted stalactites suspended from the ceiling glistened with frosted blue and green light, casting the surroundings in an ethereal glow.
The humid air encompassed Serenna like a blanket, thawing the chill in her bones. Realizing that she was leaning into Fenn’s chest, she jerked in his arms, not letting herself relax. I’m going to fall asleep if I’m not walking.
“Put me down,” she ordered, simply to see if he would.
Like a dog following a command, Fenn lowered her to the ground with an unexpected gentleness for being a brute.
Serenna sniffed, flinging her hair over a shoulder and smoothing out her damp leathers. Drawn by an enchanting shimmer in a mound of stalagmites, she traced aqua veins similar to frozen waves in an icy sea.
Inspecting more bioluminescence as she wandered around the chamber, Serenna glanced up at her guard, who vigilantly tracked her every move. “Aesar said this place was an ancient druid capital?”
Fenn nodded, leading her toward a rushing stream. A faint layer of fog swirled above the water. “Some unexplained magics preserved this forgotten stronghold over the centuries, leaving it untouched by time.” He reached up to trail his talons across low-hanging moss.
It made sense why the elves had no knowledge of such a place if it was hidden in the Wastes. Serenna wondered how Lykor had discovered the keep, though she doubted she’d glean that tale from him. But if Fenn was going to pluck information from her, then she could do the same.
“How many wraith wield Essence?” she asked. “Like that other warrior from the war room?”