Cackling wildly, Fenn disappeared, warping to the prince’s other side.
Baring his teeth, Vesryn spun on his heel, swinging another punch.
Fenn caught it mid-strike, his roguish grin devouring Vesryn’s scowl. “Oh, I think we’ll get along just fine, Princeling.”
Vesryn yanked his hand free and lunged, but Fenn warped again, reappearing behind him.
“Your speed is lacking,” he taunted, jabbing the prince’s shoulder with enough force to make him stumble.
Boots scraped against stone as Vesryn whirled, snarling as his fists went flying. Fenn darted back, the blows slicing empty air. The two circled around the dining furniture, their clash drawing raucous cheers from the gathered wraith.
Jassyn rose, rounding the table to sit on the bench beside Serenna. Her eyes bounced back and forth, following their swinging arms.
“Should we…do something?” he asked, uncertain what they evencoulddo, just as Vesryn’s punch missed Fenn by inches.
Serenna picked one of her nails, a knot of worry forming between her brows. “Fenn’s just…” She huffed, gesturing helplessly. “I don’t know. Testing him?”
Jassyn perched his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his fists. “Vesryn could end this anytime with magic.” He winced as Fenn’s fist slammed into the prince’s gut with a dull thud, doubling him over.
Before Vesryn recovered, Fenn slipped behind him, fangs gleaming in the firelight. He hooked an arm around the prince’s neck, yanking him back into a chokehold.
Vesryn twisted sharply, dropping his weight. He drove a shoulder into Fenn’s ribs, forcing him off balance. Wrenching himself free, the prince threw savage blows at Fenn, fists a blur. Fenn blocked the first, snared the second, but the third—a brutal uppercut—snapped his head back.
Fenn staggered, chuckling darkly as he worked his jaw. Their breaths came in bursts as they circled each other, quiet hostility simmering. Vesryn shifted his stance and Fenn’s grin lingered as he matched the prince step for step. But his eyes flicked to Serenna when she pointedly cleared her throat.
Fenn rolled his shoulders and inclined his head toward the prince, clacking his talons together in a gesture that seemed more like acknowledgment than mockery. Vesryn’s eyes narrowed to slits, but before he could react further, Fenn warped again.
Jassyn nearly jumped off the bench when Fenn appeared beside him.
“Come on, pretty elf,” Fenn said, his tone light, yet leaving no room for argument. “We’d better give them space to talk before the princeling tears up the kitchens. If the pocket goats spook, Lykor will flay all our hides when he returns.”
Fenn’s claws curled gently around his arm, tugging him to his feet. Jassyn cast a fleeting look at Vesryn, but the prince’s focus had already shifted to Serenna.
“I did promise Koln I’d bring you to the Lagoon,” Fenn continued. With an insistent pull, he gave Jassyn no chance to protest. Fenn herded him toward a tunnel and Jassyn’s feet scrambled to follow.
As they reached the edge of the chamber, Fenn glanced back at Vesryn and then to Serenna. “Let me know if you need anything,” he said, tapping his temple.
Serenna nodded, her smile strained but steady. “I’ll be fine.”
CHAPTER 11
SERENNA
Serenna locked eyes with Vesryn as Fenn ushered Jassyn down a darkened tunnel, the air charged with unspoken words. She resisted the urge to hurl a berating thought at Fenn for unnecessarily poking the prince’s pride. Now, the fallout washersto handle—a male nursing raw knuckles, bruised ribs, and a wounded ego.
Vesryn exhaled unevenly, still wrestling with his temper as she pushed herself to her feet.
“Do you want me to mend you?” Serenna ventured, the question cautious.
“I’m fine,” Vesryn clipped, cutting off any further offer.
He rolled his shoulders stiffly, a faint wince betraying his effort to appear unaffected. Dismissing his injuries, he swept his gaze over her, the weight of it sending heat across her cheeks.
A furrow of uncertainty tugged at his brows. “You’re different,” he said at last, softer now.
Serenna steadied herself, digging her nails into her palms. “A lot has happened.”
“Did he hurt you?” Vesryn asked, his tone measured, yet edged with something sharp.
