He paced the forest as he waited, wondering if his traitorous brother would finally face him. If not in the boxing ring, then perhaps here they could confront the issue that haunted them, his brother’s betrayal.
Chapter eleven
Seren Marudas
Everythingthathadhappenedwith Bella and Calder in the woods might have been a terrible dream if it weren’t for the large midnight snake curled next to her feet.
Her heart stuttered at the sight of the beautiful creature and as if sensing her, the snake lifted its diamond head and piercing green eyes met hers. Seren held her breath, unsure what formality or protocol should be followed when one found themselves in bed with a reptile of considerable power and ferocity. It was impossible to forget how the serpent had understood her will and eagerly attacked Calder. Despite knowing what it was capable of, Seren did not feel fear in its presence.
The snake uncurled itself and slithered around where Seren sat, wrapping itself around her waist and then seeming to rest its head contentedly on its scales. Tisiphone. It was as if the name had been whispered to her and as soon as she understood it she knew it to be true.
“Tisiphone,” she whispered. The serpent lifted its head and tilted it, meeting Seren’s gaze. “You are named after one of the furies from long ago?” She chuckled. “I suppose that’s fitting for you, my friend, after all, wasn’t it Tisiphone who had driven someone mad with the breath of a serpent taken from her hair.”
“So are we going to talk about the giant snake in our room or just let it happen?” Lily’s voice cut through her reverie.
Seren’s eyes snapped up to purple ones and found Lily sitting on the edge of her bed with arched eyebrows. She had been enraptured by Tisiphone enough that she had temporarily forgotten that she had a roommate.
“I got my familiar,” Seren said with a shrug though her smile gave away her lack of indifference.
Lily nodded her head once. “Yeah. So, I know that familiars aren’t really my thing being a blood witch and all, but aren’t you supposed to not get that til you are a second year?”
“I think so,” Seren said, running her hand along Tisiphone’s scales.
Lily clapped her hands together. “Right. So I think maybe story time is in order, Seren Marudas.”
The sigh that left her was born of exhaustion despite only just waking up. “I may have made some questionable decisions recently in which I helped Calder Darkmore steal something, but to be fair it was supposed to benefit me. Either way, Professor Atwood found out and told me to get it back but then Calder demanded Arabella, but then he did something to her with the wand, and I got mad and Tisiphone showed up and bit Calder, and we were caught by Atwood and now here we are,” she finished breathlessly.
Lily, who was ever quick of mind, processed it all as her face darkened. “The Darkmores are terrible people, Seren. You shouldn’t believe a word they say.”
Of all the things Lily could have said after her word vomit, she hadn’t expected that. “Do you know them?”
Lily blinked several times as if recovering from some memory. “Everyone knows them. They are notorious.”
Of course, Seren knew of them since one was the headmaster of Mistral Hall, but the way Lily had spoken felt personal.
Before Seren could question her more on it, Lily said, “How is Arabella now?”
Immediately, Seren felt properly chastened. That should have been her first thought upon awakening, but instead, she had been lost in her own good fortune. As if sensing her intention, Tisiphone quickly untangled herself from Seren and moved to the door, looking at Seren expectantly. She wasted no time as she quickly clambered from the bed still in her dress from last night and only remembered her shoes when her feet landed on top of them.
“Seren,” Lily said as Seren opened the door. “Be careful.”
Seren nodded and took a step, Tisiphone curved over her feet and into the hallway. “Familiars aren’t supposed to be out during the day.”
The snake merely continued on its way up the stairwell as if Seren had said nothing of consequence. Seren groaned, but didn’t argue further. It seemed her familiar knew exactly where they were going and Seren hoped that she was right about her instincts. Watching Tisiphone easily traverse the stairs was mesmerizing and would have instilled more wonder in her if it didn’t feel as if she were waiting for some proclamation of doom to be announced.
The snake came to a stop in front of an oak door, and Seren sucked in a breath, her lungs burning from the long climb. On any other day, she might have knocked, but her heart couldn’t handle waiting for the door to be answered or worse, the lack of it. Pushing open the door, Seren breathed a sigh of relief at seeing Bella resting peacefully on top of her bed. Closing the door quickly, she rushed to her sister’s side.
“Bella?” the old nickname slipped through her worry.
Arabella’s eyes fluttered open as if she were a princess in one of their childhood storybooks. A breath of relief broke from Seren’s chest at the movement. Whatever Calder had done at least Arabella seemed to be all right if a bit far away.
“Renny?” Arabella sat up and searched the room.
Movement from Arabella’s pillow found Juniper sliding out and letting out a hiss that would have raised the hairs on most witch's arms, but Seren just flicked his nose, seeing where his ire was focused.
“That’s Tisiphone, and you had best play nice or I’ll let her eat you,” Seren chided.
Arabella’s eyes widened as she protectively pulled Juniper into her lap. “You wouldn’t.”
