carried across 98

98 Stay 

Sera 

+25 Bonus 

I looked at the heavy oak door. I looked at the dark corners of the large room. The fire in the hearth was slowly dying down, casting long, erratic shadows across the stone walls. 

The immediate, suffocating fear clawed its way straight up my throat. 

If Mina left, I would be completely alone. If I was alone, I would have to close my eyes. And if I closed my eyes, the adrenaline would finally completely fade, and the reality of the murder would drag me under. I would see Kael standing in the shadows, his head tilted at that horrific, unnatural angle. I would hear him drowning in his own blood. 

I couldn’t sleep alone tonight. I would absolutely lose my mind. 

“Stay,” I said. 

Mina stopped walking. Her hand hovered an inch away from the iron latch. She turned around, looking confused. 

“Hmm?” 

“Spend the night here,” I told her, trying desperately to keep my voice casual. 

Mina shifted her weight nervously. She pointed a finger at the mattress. “Sera, you always demand your privacy. The few times I have stayed in here, it was only occasionally, and it was usually because I fell asleep by the fire.” 

“I don’t want privacy tonight,” I said. “Just stay.” 

Mina shook her head. “I really can’t. I realized that whenever I sleep in your room, I tend to oversleep. The mattress is too thick. The room is too warm. I forget my duties entirely, and the head cook yells at me.” 

“You are not a servant, Mina,” I stated firmly. “You are my friend. You should stop acting like a scullery maid.” 

Mina crossed her arms defensively over her chest. “I actually have chores, Sera. Given your wedding coming up, the preparations in the lower levels are massive.” 

“There are actual helpers for that,” I countered, standing up from the chair. I pointed at the bed. “Come to bed.” 

Mina shook her head again, holding her ground. “I would rather handle certain things myself to avoid errors. If I leave the curing to the new girls, they will use too much salt. I need to be there.” 

I wasn’t having it. The silence in the room was growing entirely too loud. The phantom smell of the burning pyre hit my nose again. 

I walked right up to her. I dropped the casual tone completely. I locked eyes with her and used the exact 

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same stern, commanding voice I had used on my mother in the Great Hall. 

“Mina. Come to bed. Now.” 

Mina stopped moving. 

She didn’t argue. She didn’t cross her arms tighter. She just stood there for a long, heavy moment, staring directly into my face. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. She was breathing heavily. The sheer, unyielding authority in my voice completely stripped away the casual banter between us. 

She looked past the harsh command. She saw the tension in my jaw. She saw the absolute, naked desperation hiding right behind my eyes. 

Mina swallowed hard. 

“Do you love me?” Mina asked suddenly. 

The question hit me completely out of nowhere. It wasn’t a joke. Her voice was incredibly soft and completely vulnerable. 

I stared at her. The heavy, dark weight in my chest cracked wide open. I looked at the young woman standing in front of me. She had defended me when I first arrived. she had dressed me. She had cheered for me when I was bleeding in the dirt ring. She was the only piece of actual light in this freezing, violent fortress. 

I gave a slow, deliberate nod. 

“I…” I started. My throat felt incredibly tight. I looked at her dark, waiting eyes. A genuine, unrestrained smile finally broke across my face. “I love you, Mina.” 

Mina’s face completely transformed. 

A massive, brilliant smile spread across her cheeks. She let out a loud, happy laugh that completely shattered the tension in the room. She didn’t hesitate for another second. She turned around and jumped like a child, hopping directly onto the massive mattress. 

She scrambled under the thick fur blankets. She patted the empty space right beside her. 

I walked over and climbed into the bed. The heavy mattress dipped instantly under our combined weight. 

Mina didn’t stay on her side. She shifted closer, throwing her arm directly over my waist. She pulled herself completely against my side, resting her head near my shoulder. 

“You shouldn’t worry, Sera,” Mina whispered into the dark room. “Nothing would make me stop loving you. 

I stared up at the dark stone ceiling. 

I thought about the execution. I thought about the sheer, cold-blooded violence I was fully capable of orchestrating to protect the things I cared about. 

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Even if you discover I killed an elder in cold blood? I asked myself silently. 

I turned my head slightly on the pillow. I looked at the side of Mina’s face. 

“Nothing?” I asked quietly. 

Mina gave a firm, absolute nod against my shoulder. “Nothing.” 

I let out a long, shaky breath. I nodded back. 

We lay there in the dark. We cuddled. It was the first time we had ever actually held each other like this. I closed my eyes. The horrific, phantom smell of the burning pyre finally started to fade, replaced entirely by the scent of the dying woodsmoke and Mina’s clean, simple soap. 

Mina shifted her nose against my neck. She sniffed my bare skin loudly. 

“Your skin smells really delicious,” Mina mumbled into my collarbone. 

I opened my eyes. I let out a surprised, genuine chuckle. The dark, haunting guilt in my mind completely evaporated, chased away by her blunt observation. 

“Why delicious?” I asked. 

“Because I feel like having a taste,” Mina answered without missing a single beat. Her voice was completely deadpan in the dark. 

I laughed out loud. It was a real, unrestrained sound. I shook my head against the pillow, pulling the thick fur blanket up over our shoulders. 

“You are something,” I said. 

** 

日 

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