Chapter 61
SERENA
“Ican’t feel my legs.”
Mar glances up when I slip through her door. “That good, huh?”
Hah. “I wish. I was training with Jace. And Zadyn.”
“My question still stands.”
I shoot her a warning look. She chuckles, parting the dresses hanging in her wardrobe.
“It’s like babysitting two toddlers. They’re constantly bickering. I thought I was going to have to banish them to opposite corners of the ring.”
Although to be fair, Jace and I would also benefit from separate corners.
“They don’t get along? Hmm. I wonder why.”
Scowling at her less than subtle implications, I flop down on the bed, face first.
“Serena…” She turns to me, suddenly serious, and says, “Are you sure you know what you’re getting yourself into with this plan? Or lack thereof?”
The velvet comforter muffles my morose response. “I never know what I’m doing until I’m doing it.” I force myself to sit up. “This is my mess. All this shit with Kylian is happening because of me.”
“No, it’s because Kylian is a monster who happens to be obsessed with you. None of this is your fault. Not to mention he would have marched on Aegar with or without you just to acquire more power.”
“Yes, but now he’s unhinged.”
“Wasn’t he always?”
“But even more so now. Running from him was a bruise to his ego.”
“Males are so fearful. They see a female with power to rival their own and seek to either contain it or crush it when they cannot.”
She’s right, but it doesn’t change anything.
“Either way, I’m the one he wants, which means I need to be the one to do this. I just wish the guys would back me up on this.”
“Why would they? They’re petrified of losing you.”
“I don’t want to leave them, I don’t want to leave any of you, but Mar, you see what I’m seeing, right? That right now I am our only bargaining chip.”
Dropping her stormy eyes, she gives me a reluctant nod.
“We can keep searching for ways around this. Two weeks isn’t nothing,” she says quietly, resting a hand on my shoulder.
“Less than two weeks. And instead of spending it beating our brains out trying to dodge what’s pretty much inevitable, I would much rather just enjoy my time with all of you.”
Mar purses her lips, then yanks me up by the wrists. “Get up. Come on.”
“What are you doing?” She fishes a hand into the wardrobe and pulls out two cloaks, tossing one to me.
“We’re going out. We need to clear our heads. Maybe an idea will come to us if we stop thinking so hard.”
Sliding off the bed, I ask, “Where do you suggest we go?”
She shrugs her slender shoulders. “Shopping, of course.”
“This is what ladies do in times of crisis?” Zadyn mutters under his breath as we make our way through the sunny streets of Iaspus. Diamond City is a madhouse, bustling with vibrance and life.
“Did you know that procrastination is one of the most useful tools for brainstorming? Proven fact,” Mar tosses back, her arm linked through mine.
“I’m sure.” He shakes his head, keeping close behind us.
The smell of chocolate hits me as we pass by a sweets shop. With a dubious look, Mar tugs me through the door. We emerge minutes later with bags of chocolates and candies and macaroons.
“You want one?” I offer Zadyn a caramel, chewing through the gooey texture. He declines, a grimace on his face.
“No thanks. I like my teeth where they are.”
“Of course, that’s why you look the way you do.” I roll my eyes and catch the smug smirk that teases up the corners of his mouth.
We drop into a few shops, sifting through clothes and hats and jewelry, taking any diversion we can get. Our escapades actually seem to be easing some of the tightness from my chest.
That is, until we come across a bridal shop, and in the window I see a silk ivory gown similar to the one I wore the day I was to be married. My whole body turns to ice as I slip out of Mar’s grasp, suddenly rooted to the ground.
“Serena, are you…” Mar gazes from me to the source of my horror. I force a swallow. That’s when something else catches my eye in the reflection.
In my rearview is a cloaked figure, a hood drawn over her head. A long, loose braid the color of thick honey spills out over her chest. She stands watching me for a moment that stretches on too long to feel casual.
I turn, locking eyes with her as she nods for me to follow.
I’ve found that when my intuition tugs at me, it’s best not to ignore it. So I duck into the crowd after her.
“Serena, where are you going? What did you see?”
“That female.”
“What about her? Why are you following her?”
“Because she wants me to.”
I don’t give them the option to argue, trailing the figure through the Markade, inside of an old ale house and up the rickety stairs. I push open the door she’s left slightly ajar, Zadyn and Mar piling in behind me.
The figure drops her hood. I gasp as it falls, revealing what I already suspected deep in my bones the moment I spotted her.
“Hello, Serena.”
I stare, unable to talk or think or breathe.
Taking a tentative step forward, I say, “You know me.”
She sinks into a seat at the round table, picking up a stack of painted cards and beginning to shuffle.
“You don’t think I would recognize my own daughter? Have a seat.”