My palms twitch with the desire to pummel the ever-living fuck out of him. But I loose a tight sigh, clenching my fists until the simmering rage has settled.
Serena closes her eyes, making an effort to concentrate. After a moment, she tenses, her dark lashes twitching every so often as they carry on their wordless conversation.
“Imagine you’re stacking bricks one at a time, building up a literal wall in your mind,” Zadyn murmurs, watching her. “Good. That’s much better.”
The strain on her face grows more pronounced, her jaw grinding, her breath coming in short, rapid bursts.
“That’s it. You’re doing it,” he encourages.
A small whimper escapes her lips. I jolt forward, moving in front of her. Serena’s fingers are curled around her knees like talons, her nails threatening to puncture the leather and her perfect skin beneath.
“That’s enough,” I mutter. But Zadyn’s eyes are fastened to hers in an unbreakable hold. I grip Serena’s shoulders. “That’senough.”
Her eyes fly open with a loud gasp. She blinks a few times, disoriented.
“Are you alright?” I demand.
“I’m fine.” She winces and clutches her temples. “Fuck, my head hurts.”
“It takes a lot of concentration to continually block someone out. That was great for your first real try,” Zadyn says, reaching out to brush her hair off her neck. I zero in on that move, scowling as he stands and offers her a hand. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up. We can try again later.”
She allows him to hoist her up, and we make our way back toward the hall.
“Zadyn?” Serena asks. “Why areyouable to read my mind?”
He hesitates, as if debating how to answer. “I’m your familiar.”
“Oh.” That single word carries a slight air of disappointment. Serena stares at her feet as we enter the keep. “But Kylian’s not.”
“If he could get into the minds of the Guardians, I’m guessing it would be nothing for him to waltz right into yours,” I supply.
“Damn.”
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just—I was hoping maybe I would be able to crack into his mind the way he can with mine or that I could hear him like I do Zadyn. I could be one step ahead of him and he’d never even know.”
“Yeah, that would have been nice.” I steal a quick glance at her. I’m going to regret asking this, but, “Have you ever tried to hear someone other than Zadyn?”
She peers up at me. “No. It’s not like I actively try to hear him, it’s just like this…channel between us that’s always been there. I never had to work for it.”
They share a look, and suddenly my presence feels so redundant. I could self-combust beside them, and I don’t think either of them would notice.
And that makes my gut twist.
She’s moving on. And all I can do is watch.
61
SERENA
13 DAYS
“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.AndZadyn.”
