“It’s not me I’m worried about.”
Of course. Jace.
Always Jace.
No matter how many times he hurts her, she finds a way to forgive and forget. And heknowsshe always will.
Finding them the way I did in her room, my envy was second only to my sympathy. I can barely tolerate the man, but the way he clung to her, his face addled with desperation, with loss…I know what it’s like to lose a father. So does Serena.
This is a mess. The last thing she needed right now was to lose Derek. Just as she was starting to heal, starting to flourish. I’m worried about what this will do to her.
I wish I could somehow fix it. Somehow fill all the holes in her heart.
“Serena—”
“No, don’t give me that look. I can’t do it right now. If I let myself think about it…I’ll fall apart, and right now all of us need me together.”
I nod, dropping my hand.
We wait in somber silence, listeningto the cicadas sing in the trees. Furi circles overhead, her silhouette zig-zagging across the full moon.
Mar reappears after a few minutes with a bag thrown over her shoulder and two males at her side, one of them limping.
Why am I not surprised?
“You know what they say,” Kai breathes as they make their way down to us. He’s slightly winded by the time they stop. “Two is company, three’s a party.”
“And five is way too many,” Serena scoffs.
“I tried to say no, but they insisted.” Mar holds up her hands, casting a look at her mate.
“Kai, I don’t think it’s a good idea. You should be letting that leg heal.”
“Serena, don’t baby me, alright? We’re in this mess because of my scum-lord brother. This is the least I can do. Let me help. Please.”
“You’ve already helped. You’ve done more than enough, I can’t ask you to?—”
Kai steps forward and pinches Serena’s lips together. “It’s not up for debate.”
She swats him away. “Fine.”
Tipping her head up to the sky, she lets out a loud whistle. Furi stops her path mid-loop to land beside us. I settle into the saddle behind Serena, going rigid when she reaches back to slide my arms around her waist.
She turns over her shoulder to look at me. “Comfortable?”
“As I can be,” I breathe, my skin prickling at her touch.
She gives me a small smile. “You can get closer, Zadyn, I’m not gonna bite.”
I scoot forward until her back meets my chest. She’s fitted flush against me, basically in my lap. The scent of her hair washes over me, and I want to bury my face in it.
This is going to be a long, torturous ride.
A moment later, we’re airborne, disappearing into the stars.
“Why is it fucking freezing here?”
I can hear Marideth’s teeth chattering from across the fire.
