Frowning, Fenn blinked at his bare arms, each bicep adorned by a single silver band. “I have no sleeves.”

Too fatigued to respond, Serenna released a weary sigh.

Fenn pointed at one of the darkened tunnels in the tangle of cavern corridors. “I know a shortcut.”

Hesitant to leave the light, Serenna’s eyes darted between the luminescent plants, the maw of gaping black, and her wraith warden. Taking it upon himself to override her fear, Fenn condemned her by prodding her toward the entrance of the tunnel.

Spine tingling, Serenna glanced over her shoulder as her feet trudged forward, unsettled at having a stranger looming behind her—and a warrior at that. The last thing she saw was Fenn’s eyes, glowing like embers in the vestiges of light before darkness plundered her sight.

Hands outstretched, Serenna blindly stumbled through the dark. Away from the rushing underground stream, the compressed air in the tunnel pressed down with a suffocating weight. Every time she balked, Fenn goaded her with a push, steering her like a herded swine.

Serenna shuffled ahead, attempting to put herself out of his reach. After a few rounds of catching her when she tripped and then propelling her forward again, Fenn apparently had enough.

“File my fangs,” he swore beside her, holding her upright with a claw. “We’d be at Lykor’s tower by now if you weren’t dragging your feet.”

Bristling with annoyance, Serenna ripped her arm out of his unnervingly warm grasp. “I can’t see in the dark like you…” The remainder of the cruel jab she was about to unleash about his unnatural eyes died on her tongue. The reality of the wraith’s origins doused the fire in her gut. He’s not too different from me or any other elf—he just doesn’t have Essence.

“I didn’t realize you required sight to move your legs.” Fenn snatched her arm when she tripped again.

Before Serenna could retort, something scraped and rapidly clicked against the rocky floor, echoing from every direction.

“Stars, slay me,” Fenn all but groaned, fingers tensing against her. “I don’t care how much of the sky reflects in those pretty elf eyes of yours—after this, I’m pleading with Lykor for reassignment.” His voice sharpened, clipping out an order. “Get behind me.”

Fenn didn’t give Serenna an option, swinging her around him. The chittering bounced off the walls, traveling closer.

Scalp prickling, Serenna’s words were hushed while she blindly searched the dark. “What is it?”

“Cavern scorpion,” Fenn muttered. “I’d rather face an ice wolf with my talons shaved off—at least you can keep track of all their legs.”

Serenna’s heart leaped against her ribs at the sudden glitter of Fenn’s scarlet eyes, seeming to glow with their own faint light as he looked back at her.

“Can you see it?” she whispered, the darkness only escalating her fright. “I can’t tell—”

Serenna clamped her teeth shut upon hearing the whisper of leather, silently hoping Fenn was unsheathing one of his weapons. She jumped when there was a click and the noise of a pulley cranking, like a ship hoisting a sail.

The clacking of the cavern scorpion stilled, the tunnel devouring the sound. Heartbeat thumping in her ears, Serenna strained to hear the creature over her thundering pulse. Biting her cheek in the silence, her breath came fast through her nose. If I didn’t have this tether on, I wouldn’t be reliant on Fenn to protect me.

A burst of hissing split the air. There was a sound like dozens of legs abruptly skittering over stone. Serenna tensed, every muscle coiling. Imagining the creature charging at them in a wild dash had her a moment away from spinning around to flee.

A twang ricocheted against the tunnel’s walls. The sound of what she assumed was one of those short arrows thudded into…something, drawing out an eerie screech. Cyan light flared with the same dim color of the glowing plants from the cavern, accompanied by an eruption of pungent musk. Serenna nearly gagged, discovering that the foul odor was a pool of the scorpion’s blood.

Fenn approached the cat-sized creature, his colossal form casting a faint shadow on the wall. Serenna hesitantly followed, assuming the luminescent scorpion was dead.

Planting a boot on its shelled plates, Fenn yanked the arrow out of a punctured eye. Serenna’s stomach turned over at the sickening squelch.

“What’s that weapon?” She had an uncomfortable feeling it was the contraption that Vesryn had described when he’d been injured.

“Crossbow,” Fenn said, holstering it on his back. “Comes in handy, but it’s slow to reload. If there was more than one scorpion, I’d resort to throwing my knives.”

Serenna studied the pattern of glowing blue blood, spattered across the rocks. She swallowed, recalling her lacerated peers at the academy during the attack—their deaths now so pointless. If Aesar spoke true, it’s not each other that we should be fighting—it’s the king.

Steering her attention back to the tunnel, she braved to ask, “Why not use your talons?”

“And foul my claws with ichor?” Fenn released a snort. Unraveling a cord braided around his wrist, he dropped to a knee. “I doubt you’d be so inclined to plunge your dainty elf hands inside this vermin.”

Point taken, even though my hands aren’t exactly ‘dainty’ anymore. Serenna ran her elongated fingers over her damp hair, pausing to inspect the black color. “Would you teach me how to use it? The crossbow? Or another weapon?” She fidgeted with the end of her braid as he tied a knot under the scorpion’s barbed stinger. “Since Lykor is keeping me tethered, I don’t want to be…defenseless.”

Fenn barked a laugh, making her feel ridiculous for mentioning it. Why did I ask that? While she might not technically be at odds with the wraith, it wasn’t as if she should expect them to waste time teaching her how to fend for herself. Serenna scowled at Fenn’s back, preparing herself for whatever he was about to unleash.

Something that sounded like skepticism pitched Fenn’s voice higher. “Defenseless?” He cut a look over his shoulder, eyes ablaze with mirth. “I’ll have you know, Wind Weaver, that I’m still picking shards of that window out of my ass.”

Serenna blinked. Her mouth hinged open with a question but stunned shock deprived her of words.

“What?” Fenn asked, straightening back to his towering height. “You don’t believe you dealt my pride a devastating blow?”

Apparently feeling the need to prove his claim, Fenn twisted around. Serenna’s eyes popped when he slid the backside of his leather trousers considerably lower than was appropriate, shamelessly revealing much more skin than she was prepared to see. A ridge of white sutures fanned over defined muscles that he was most certainly flexing.

An unexpected laugh spilled passed Serenna’s lips before she ripped her eyes back to Fenn’s face. Flustered, the points of her ears burned as she battled to keep her eyes on his.

Fenn’s crimson gaze smoldered with amusement as he covered himself up. “You’re not defenseless. You could snap me in half with a flick of your fingers.” He demonstrated with some wild motion of his talons. “I highly doubt my clan has any intention of letting me forget how they sewed my backside together.”

Serenna’s mouth twitched at the thought. Something about his peculiar behavior dislodged a tiny splinter of fear.

“Is everyone in your clan family?” she asked, curious about the social structure of the wraith.

“It’s more of a community—a way of organizing our people. My clan is the largest,” Fenn said proudly, returning to the scorpion. “Luckily, we have talented tailors in our district.”

Serenna’s amusement morphed into guilt from observing his wounds. “Thank you for intervening in the war room.” She picked at a nail, chipped from helping Aesar clear the rubble while she assembled her thoughts. “Lykor might’ve killed me or taken the rest of my power if you and that other warrior hadn’t been there.”

“That wasn’t Lykor’s fault,” Fenn said quickly. Too defensively. “He’s not normally like that.”

Serenna remained silent, unconvinced as she mulled over his claim. Aesar had informed her of the compulsive magic on Lykor and how she’d apparently triggered it by calling out for the prince.

Serenna wrinkled her nose as Fenn hacked off the scorpion’s legs with a long knife before tying the body to his belt. Fearing it was a culinary conquest, she refrained from asking why he was bringing the creature with them.

Fenn popped his knuckles, each crack of his joints making her cringe. “Let’s get back to the light,” he said. The spilled blood from the scorpion glowed, dripping as it dangled from his waist. “I’d prefer to leave before the rest of its pod arrives to investigate. I’ll carry you, so we’re not down here until the next full moons.”

Serenna backed away as he approached. “I—I don’t need to be—” She released a squawk when Fenn scooped her up, stomach tumbling as he lifted her through the air. Expecting the wind to be knocked out of her when he slung her over a shoulder, Serenna braced herself. Instead, Fenn carried her in front of him in an equally undignified position, like she was an inconvenient bundle of sticks.

Serenna writhed in his arms, trying to put more space between them. An abnormal heat radiated through his armor, melting the chill in her clammy skin.

A sudden sting had Serenna yelping. Her voice bounced back to her off of the surrounding rock. She rubbed her backside and hissed, “Did you seriously pinch me?”

In the faint glow of the scorpion at Fenn’s side, she caught his lips twitching. “I’ll do it again, she-elf.”

“I didn’t ask you to carry me like this, you lumbering leviathan.” Serenna swatted at him when he attempted to follow through with his threat.

“Then enlighten me as to which position you’d prefer.” The rings looped through Fenn’s raised brows clinked together. “You’re squirming worse than that scorpion and you’re about six legs short.”