carried across 36

36 Even The Inconvenient Ones 

Sera 

 

I didn’t feel the laces tightening across my ribs, even though Mina was pulling them hard enough to make me wince My body was on autopilot-arms lifting when she nudged them, chin tilting when she needed to reach a fastener My mind was stuck in the dirt of the training yard, picturing a seven-year-old boy with hands covered in blood that wasn’t his 

Mina was rambling Something about Yvara’s mood, something about the cold I didn’t hear a word of it! was just looking at my own hands, palms up, wondering how much blood they could hold before I broke 

“Are you even in there?” Mina asked, pausing with her hands on my waist. 

“I’m fine,” I said. The lie felt thin, like old parchment. 

Mina didn’t push. She’d learned by now that I wasn’t going to open up just because she asked. She finished the last of the ties and stepped back, looking me over. “You look presentable. Go eat. Real food this time, Sera. You’re going to need the energy.” 

She left, the door clicking shut behind her. I turned to the mirror. I looked like a disaster. There were dark, heavy circles under my eyes that made me look ten years older. My arms were a map of yellowing bruises and fresh red scratches. I didn’t look like a princess anymore. I looked like someone who had been dragged through a hedge and left for dead. 

I didn’t linger. I went to the breakfast room. 

It was the same small, stone-walled space as yesterday. Private. Warm. The smell of fried meat and heavy bread filled the air. Fenris was already there, his large frame hunched over a plate. He looked up when I walked in, his grey eyes sweeping over me once before he gave a short, sharp nod toward the chair across from him. 

I sat. I picked up a fork and shoved some eggs into my mouth. I chewed and swallowed, but it could have been sawdust for all I tasted. I couldn’t stop watching his hands. The thick scars across his knuckles, the way his fingers wrapped entirely around a heavy mug. I kept trying to see the little boy he’d been. I tried to imagine those giant hands as small, shaking things, soaked in red. It was hard to reconcile the man who looked like he could crush a skull with the boy who had watched his friend die. 

The silence stretched out. It wasn’t the heavy, angry silence of the morning before. It was just quiet. The fire popped Somewhere outside the mountain, someone was shouting an order, the sound muffled by the thick stone walls 1 

“The food is alright? Fenris asked. 

I looked down at my plate it was good. But I wasn’t paying attention to it 

“It’s fine,” I said 

The quiet returned, and it felt like it was pressing against my chest I couldn’t stand it. “Is it always like 

this?” I asked. 

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Fenris looked up from his steak. “Like what?” 

“The training. The yard. Is it always that brutal?” 

He shrugged, his massive shoulders shifting under his dark tunic. “Yes.” 

I took another bite, forcing it down. My throat felt tight, like it was closing up. 

Fenris set his fork down with a dull clatter. He leaned back, watching me. “If you’re going to be my Luna, you need to be strong enough to defend yourself. That’s the reality here.” 

ense. 

I looked up, meeting his eyes. I hated that he was right. I hated that he was making sens 

“I have enemies, Sera,” he continued, his voice flat. “Real ones. People who would love nothing more than to hurt me by putting a knife in you. You can’t be a weakness. I can’t have you being something they use to pull me down.” 

Anger sparked in my gut. “You could have just left me alone,” I snapped. “I was weak. I was nothing. You could have found another bride. Another alliance. Someone who actually belongs in this frozen hellhole.” 

Fenris nodded. He didn’t even blink. “Yes. I would have preferred that.” 

The honesty hit me like a slap to the face. I blinked, my mouth hanging open slightly. I hadn’t expected him to agree so easily. 

“My brother made the deal with your father,” he said, picking up his mug. “Dimitri arranged this before he died. I respect my brother’s wishes. Even the inconvenient ones.” 

*** 

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