“Says the male whose strategy seems to be glaring at the tree until it apologizes,” Fenn growled. “I’d rather free her before these vines compost her into mulch.”
“So you’re going to talk us all to death?” Vesryn shot back. “Last I checked, you—”
“Enough!” Serenna shrieked through the plants. “If both of you are going to argue, then just leave. I need to concentrate.”
Both males fell silent. Fenn radiated quiet intensity, every fiber ready to spring at whatever she needed him to do. Vesryn stewed beside him, restless fingers tapping against the vines.
Serenna exhaled shakily, her breath catching on the tight band of pain wrapped around her ribs and the sting of countless wounds.
The tree’s rhythm hummed through her chest, a heartbeat reverberating from deep within the earth. She let herself sink into it, diving past her fear, attuning herself to its pulse.
“She-elf,” Fenn said softly, his voice a lodestone in the dark. “What do you sense?”
Serenna branched her perception outward, brushing against the tree’s vast presence. “The tree feels…furious.” Though the word barely encompassed the raw, primal rage seething through its roots. “We stole something it’s guarded for centuries. I think protecting the Heart was its given purpose.”
Delving deeper, she strained to understand the ancient awareness entwined with the tree. “I think it holds me accountable,” she admitted, realizing why she’d been the target of its wrath. “Since I have a connection to the earth. I should have…asked or somehow conveyed that we meant no harm.”
Vesryn shifted, his fingers retreating from the tangled vines. “This was my fault, not yours.”
“She can set it right with her plant magics,” Fenn said confidently. “She-elf, can you explain to the tree that we intend to use the Starry Hearts to free the dragons?”
“That’s absurd.” Vesryn scoffed. “It’s atree. You think it cares about noble intentions?”
“The tree seemed to care plenty when you provoked it,” Fenn countered, the glow of his eyes flaring through the leaves. “But go ahead. Try something with that knife. Maybe Serenna will enjoy being strangled further while you stab at its roots.”
The scrape of Vesryn’s blade sliding back into its sheath cut off whatever he muttered under his breath.
When Serenna closed her eyes, a quiet certainty settled—this tree wasn’t an adversary to be conquered. Its strength was ancient, almost certainly bolstered by long-forgotten druidic magic.
Instead of wrestling the vines through sheer will, Serenna softened her approach, delicately threading her thoughts into the shoots. She wove a wordless message of peace, conveying their hopes for the Heart of Stars and that no harm was intended.
A sudden rustle staked a spike of fear straight through her heart. Bracing for the worst, she tensed as the leaves shifted against her skin. But the vines slackened, their oppressive grip relaxing as the tree relented.
“That’s it,” Fenn breathed.
Thorns withdrew, sharp points sliding from Serenna’s torn flesh. The knotted enclosure unraveled one tendril at a time, peeling back as the thicket opened to reveal the space between them. The air lightened, though the tree’s hum lingered, waiting.
Vesryn dove through the gap as it widened. Replacing the vines, he dropped to his knees and hauled her into an embrace, igniting Essence as he clutched her to his chest.
Serenna flinched, expecting the crystal to screech or retaliate, but no pressure rippled to siphon his power. The tree’s tranquility must’ve subdued the gem too.
Ruby light wrapped her in a shroud of mending, sealing the punctures left behind by the vicious vines.
Fenn settled cross-legged on Serenna’s other side, a crooked grin spreading across his face that she found herself mirroring.
“I knew you could do it,” he said, brushing a strand of hair away from her eyes with a gentle talon.
Vesryn’s hands tightened against her, but he kept silent, stoically healing one wound at a time.
Serenna’s eyes widened as her skin knit back together seamlessly, the aches in her body receding. “You’ve improved.”
“Jassyn’s been…teaching me,” Vesryn mumbled. His focus remained on her injuries, but Serenna felt that the harrowing encounter had dented his iron pride.
Fenn’s eyes gleamed with fascination as he leaned forward, tracking the shimmering ribbons of magic that wove between them. “You’re doing brilliantly, Princeling,” he said, nearly reverent. He rested a claw on Vesryn’s shoulder. “Your magics—”
Vesryn shoved him off, every muscle in his jaw flexing. “I don’t need backhanded praise,” he grated out, the fragile lattice of mending he was working on beginning to unravel.
Fenn’s grin faded, the light dimming in his eyes. For a heartbeat, he felt startled—confused and stung. He blinked, uncharacteristically quiet as he processed the rejection, his mouth settling into a measured frown.
