carried across 39

39 You’ll Be Fine 

Sera 

The room went silent. The fire in the hearth popped, throwing a spray of orange sparks against the stone. 

“Are you angry at her?” Mina asked. 

I laughed again. It was that same bitter, ugly sound. “I don’t know what I am. I’m angry. I’m hurt. I’m confused. Part of me wants to scream at her the second she steps off that carriage. I want to ask her why she didn’t fight for me. Why she just sat there and watched my life get traded away.” 

I paused. I looked at my shaking hands. 

“And the other part?” Mina prompted. 

“The other part just wants her to hold me,” I whispered. “I want her to tell me everything is going to be okay. Even if I know it’s a lie. I just want to feel like someone is on my side.” 

Mina nodded slowly. “That makes sense.” 

“How does that make sense?” I snapped, looking at her. “I’m a mess. I can’t even figure out if I want to see my own mother or if I want her to stay a thousand miles away.” 

Mina shrugged. She didn’t look bothered by my tone. “Feelings don’t have to make sense, Sera. They just are. You can hate her and want her at the same time. It doesn’t make you crazy. It just makes you real.” 

I stared at her. For a second, the mask she usually wore-the one of the cheeky servant or the defiant princess-was gone. She looked older. She looked like she knew exactly what it felt like to want something from a parent that they weren’t capable of giving. 

“What about your mother?” I asked. 

Mina’s face changed instantly. It closed off, the lines around her mouth tightening. She looked back at the fire. “She died when I was very young. I barely remember what she looked like. I have a few memories of her hair, and a song she used to sing. That’s it.” 

“I’m sorry,” I said. 

Mina shrugged again, a quick, dismissive movement. “It’s fine. I had Dimitri. That was enough for me.” 

The silence returned, heavier this time. 

“What was he really like?” I asked. “Dimitri. Everyone talks about him like he was a saint. Like he was perfect.” 1 

Mina looked at me. There was a flicker of surprise in her eyes, followed by a quick flash of caution. “Why do you want to know?” 

“I’m just asking,” I said. “I want to know if the man I was supposed to marry was actually the hero everyone says he was.” 

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Mina went quiet for a long moment. She seemed to be picking her words carefully. “He wasn’t a saint,” she finally said. “He was just… good. Actually good. He didn’t pretend to care about people for the sake of the crown. He just cared. He saw people exactly as they were.” 

She paused, her gaze softening. “He was the only one who looked at me and didn’t see a bastard or an Omega. He just saw Mina. He made sure I knew that I mattered, even when the rest of the pack looked right through me.” 

I nodded. I understood that. I thought about the one person who makes you feel visible in a world that wants you to be invisible. I thought about Kane. I thought about how I’d spent three years believing he was that person for me. I’d been so wrong it hurt to think about. 

“What are you thinking about?” Mina asked. 

“Nothing,” I said, shaking my head. 

Mina didn’t push. She knew when to leave it alone. 

We sat there for a while, listening to the wind howl against the stone exterior of the mountain. It sounded like a wounded animal. 

“Your mother might surprise you,” Mina said quietly. 

I looked at her. 

“Sometimes people are weak in one moment and strong in another,” Mina continued. “Maybe she couldn’t fight in that room with your father watching her. But maybe she’s coming here now because she found her courage. Maybe she needs to make it right.” 

I considered that. I didn’t believe it for a second. My mother wasn’t a fighter, she was a survivor who did 

what she was told. But I didn’t dismiss it either. 

“Maybe,” I said. 

Mina nodded. “That’s enough for now. You’re exhausted.” 

I lay back on the bed, my head hitting the pillow. My body had finally stopped that frantic humming. The heat of the encounter with Fenris had faded into a dull, heavy ache in my bones. I was tired. I was more than tired. I was hollow. 1 

Three days until my mother arrived. 

Four days until the duel with Taya. 

And somewhere in this fortress, Fenris was walking around after telling me he wanted to fuck me like he was talking about something absolutely normal. 

I closed my eyes. 

“Do you want to be alone?” Mina asked. 

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39 You’ll Be Fine 

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“No,” I said. 

Mina lay down on the mattress beside me. She didn’t touch me, but I could feel her presence. She started to hum a low, tuneless melody. 

“You’ll be fine, Sera,” she said. 

I didn’t answer. I just drifted off to the sound of her humming, and the wind outside. 

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