Enduring Aesar’s scrutiny was unbearable enough, but having to contend with the girl too? Her entire existence seemed designed by the fucking stars to vex him.
He should sever this conversation before she pried any deeper. Yet some insidious curiosity kept him silent.
“I’ve seen how you watch over him,” Serenna commented, as if it were the most obvious truth in the world.
Lykor’s fingers itched with the urge to throw her off the balcony. He wasn’t sure which was worse—her audacity to voice all of this, or the fact that she was right.
She brushed his arm, the contact lingering. A muscle in his cheek twitched, but he didn’t retreat. Didn’t shake her off and confirm whatever suspicions she was weaving in her head. He had nothing to hide—he watched over everyone.
“It means something,” she murmured, her fingers tightening against him. “When someone chooses to stand by your side—not out of duty or obligation, but because they want to.”
Lykor’s breath dragged, his chest suddenly too tight. “Don’t twist this into something it’s not,” he growled. “Jassyn is useful. It’sstrategicto make sure he doesn’t get himself killed. Nothing more.”
The shaman twat smiled at that. “Strategic,” she echoed, patting his arm. “But as his friend, I think yourstrategyis worth recognizing.”
Lykor pulled out of her grip, pointedly staring over her head to the gardens below. He prowled around her to the balustrade overlooking the courtyard.
“This wasn’t what I brought you out here to discuss,” he muttered, but the usual bite had abandoned his voice.
Serenna released a disbelieving scoff as she joined his side. She planted a hand on her hip, brows raising to her hairline. “You wanted to discuss something? Withme?”
“Is that so difficult to fathom?” Lykor rolled his shoulders as he planted his palms on the balcony.
“The druids,” he continued, cutting off whatever retort she was forming. “They’re deferring to you.”
Lykor hesitated, jaw tightening and loosening. They would likely do the same for Jassyn once they realized he possessed the same abilities. But he wasn’t ready to expose that. Serenna would be the test. A gauge for their intentions, to ensure their devotion wasn’t a snare. He’d watch them through her first, measure every reaction before deciding whether to risk more.
“Have you noticed?” he pressed.
Serenna blinked, her expression smoothing into something almost unreadable. But the shift of her feet—the way her eyes skated just past his—betrayed her. She wasn’t oblivious, but she hadn’t let herself fully consider the implications.
Typical.
She scanned the courtyard, focusing on servants who were pruning mistpetals from flowering hedges. “They do seem…persistent in ensuring our needs are met,” she said slowly.
“We could use that to ouradvantage,” Lykor prompted.
Serenna searched his face, taking her time to weigh his words. “You want to use whatever influence I have.”
Lykor nodded curtly. “We need answers about this side of the world—especially about the dragons. But we also need to know if there are more druids, what those Starstards are and how to control them, and what other weapons they might have—anything we can use to turn the tide in our favor.” He gripped the balcony until his fingers ached. “And if there’s any way to know whether Galaeryn’s forces have already landed.”
Serenna perched her elbows on the barrier. “Maybe I can ask for a map.”
“Be serious,” Lykor hissed, scowling as a needle-nosed bird the size of a giant bee buzzed by. Ridiculous creature. “If the druids possess magic that can serve us, we need to know.” He leveled his gaze on her. “But don’t mistake them for allies. Zealots will bow today and burn us tomorrow if they read something in the stars that demands it. So push them for what we need—before they turn.”
Serenna’s eyes sparked with defiance. Of course they did. “You believe they’ll just fall in line with anything I ask? They probably want something fromus.” She jabbed his arm, and Lykor curled his lip. “Why do you even want to work with them? I doubt you’ll forget that they nearly sacrificed our blood to the sun.”
“Yes, and they’ve made it abundantly clear that this has all been a grand, unfortunate misunderstanding,” he said. “Of course I’m not going to fucking forget—much less forgive. I don’t trust them, but we don’t have any other options. If they’representing us with a haven and resources, I won’t let that go to waste. And if they can prove themselves, we’ll have a place to move everyone from the jungle.”
Serenna tilted her head, falling quiet as she studied the fountains. “We need to earn their trust before they realize Elashor and the king have other shamans,” she said quietly. “Their devotion could have easily gone the other way if we hadn’t stumbled upon them first.”
Lykor grunted his agreement, unwilling to entertain notions of what-ifs.
Serenna folded her arms, raking a skeptical gaze over him. “So does this mean you’ll defer to me?”
Lykor barked a laugh—then laughed harder when she scowled. “Defer?No.” He held up a finger when she opened her mouth, ready to flap her tongue back at him. “But since you’re the reason we still have our hides intact, you can deal with those winged menaces.”
A throat cleared near the archway back indoors.
