And if Jassyn’s presence hadn’t broken through his frenzy… Serenna swallowed hard against the knot tightening in her throat. She might’ve been among the wraith he’d left scattered on the shore.
The gentle weight of Fenn’s claw landing on her shoulder towed Serenna out of her somber thoughts.
“Last night still troubles you?” he asked softly, reading her unease through the bond. When he’d sensed her distress upon returning to the jungle, he’d dragged Koln away from the lake with him, determined to uncover what had happened.
Serenna sighed, her frosty breath vanishing in the air as she reclaimed command of her shadows. She sliced through another row of jagged scales before meeting the concern in Fenn’s waiting stare.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever seen Lykor like that,” she said quietly, the image of Lykor ruthlessly siphoning power still raw in her mind. Cold dread seeped through her bones—her brother had barely been spared. “I think he almost lost control.”
Fenn’s brows pulled together, jewelry clinking faintly as his expression fell. “The sooner we find these dragons…” Claw tightening against her, he trailed off, his certainty about Lykor faltering for the first time.
“It’s not just about the dragons anymore,” Serenna admitted. “My family… I wish Saundyl and my mother were far from Elashor’s reach.”
Hands shaking, a fog of uncontrolled shadows rose around her. Saundyl’s final words still haunted her—their mother was expecting another child by the Winter Solstice.
I abandoned them.The thought struck hard, a sharp pang Serenna forced herself to suppress. Her departure had been necessary—she knew that—but it had come at a cost. It meant leaving Saundyl to bear the full weight of Elashor’s schemes and… She wasn’t sure what would happen if she crossed paths with her brother again.
“If I ever come face-to-face with that excuse for a male who sired you…” Fenn’s growl reverberated through the air, his grip on her tensing with barely restrained fury. “He was never clan to you.”
Serenna released a breath as something deep in her chest loosened and broke free. Despite her former efforts to earn his approval, Elashor had never been family in the way that mattered. And he never would be.
Fenn’s anger and her sorrow churned together, a turbulent storm of shared emotions. She didn’t want to shut him out, but if she let her feelings spiral further, they wouldn’t be hers alone.
Refocusing on the serpent, Serenna pressed her lips together. “There’s more at stake now than I realized. I just hope we’re not wandering endlessly to find the dragons. Time isn’t on our side.”
Flicking her wrist, she cut deep into the creature’s belly with her magic, spilling its steaming entrails onto the snow.
“It’s only been a day and we’ve traveled farther than I’ve ever been from the fortress on foot,” Fenn said, nodding approvingly as Serenna peeled away the remaining layer of scales. “It’s…peculiar,” he remarked, gaze sweeping the endless expanse of white before settling back on her. “With your portaling magics, I feel like I could return to anywhere I’ve ever been.”
“How far do you think you could open one rift?” Serenna asked, welcoming the shift to a lighter topic.
Finished with her task, she rose to her feet and wrapped her arms around herself, warding off the persistent chill.
Fenn stood with her, idly spinning a ring in his ear as he pondered the question. “Without portal jumping? Maybe the span of twenty sky brims.” He stared off into the distance, where their companions were specks against the snow. “Certainly not all the way back to the jungle like Lykor and your princeling.” Fenn cast her a sideways glance, lips tilting in a way that made the frigid air seem less cold. “But if we jump one more, we might find ourselves alone—if you want to delay our return.”
Serenna’s pulse quickened, his desire obviously fueling her own. “Don’t tempt me,” she said, half-considering Fenn’s offer of rebellion.
The thought of postponing their return to an abrasive Lykor and a brooding prince carried a fleeting appeal. But even that temptation couldn’t outweigh her unease.
Lykor’s temper—already volatile after last night’s confrontation—had simmered dangerously throughout the morning, erupting into a heated quarrel with Vesryn by midday. She and Fenn had left the two locked in argument, their clashing opinions descending into relentless bickering over the best way to navigate the Wastes.
Serenna’s shoulders sagged. They couldn’t leave Jassyn caught in the middle any longer than they already had.
Sighing dramatically the same time she did, Fenn said, “I’ll take that as an unfortunate no.” He jutted his chin toward the skinned serpent and smirked. “In any case, you’d better rinse off the meats before we head back.”
“Yes,Lieutenant,” Serenna said dryly, rolling her eyes.
Still, she humored him, extending her awareness toward the snow. Drawing on the flakes, she hauled them into a spinning whorl, scraping the steaming body clean until only glistening muscle remained.
Fenn’s grin widened as he watched her work, satisfied with her compliance. A whip of force snapped from his palm, reeling the cleaned carcass into his waiting claw.
“We should probably save our magics and warp back,” he said, draping an arm over her.
As if they hadn’t just spent Essence on this entirely frivolous excursion.
Serenna closed her eyes and clutched his leathers to brace herself. A rush of weightlessness swept through her, the frosty air evaporating into a muted void. Stomach flipping, lungs seizing on an inhale, the world shifted beneath her feet as Fenn folded them into shadows.
CHAPTER 35
