The Rising

by Terra Harmony

Chapter Twenty-Five

  Nerin escorts Serena directly to Kai, who then shuffles Serena out of the Great Hall, without giving her a chance to ask the king any more questions. There is no need to push anyone in the crowd aside, they are edging away from Serena's trident already.

  "No Murphy this time?" Serena asks.

  "Nope," he says.

  "Where are we going?"

  "To train with your newest weapon." He slows as they wade into an entrance pool leading to the open ocean. "Speaking of," he turns to look at her. She is so close she almost takes a step back. "Where is your bow and arrow set?"

  "I left them in The Dry," Serena suddenly can't look him in the eye. "But they are safe—surrounded by wolfsbane. And Liam would never—"

  Kai interrupts by lifting her chin so she is forced to meet his eyes.

  Warmth floods her lower belly. She puts her hand to her abdomen, but can't tear her eyes away from Kai. "Hmm?" she asks.

  "Don't get too close to him, okay?"

  The moment passes, and all of the heat that flooded Serena's system drifts away, leaving only cold in its wake.

  "I know what I'm doing out there, Kai."

  "I know." He steps back, dropping his hand to polish a spot on her trident with the pad of his thumb. "I mean don't get too attached."

  Serena furrows her eyebrows. "He is the only friend I have out there right now. And I trust him."

  Kai considers her for a moment, then nods. "Come on, let's get to those archives so we can continue to not stick holes in all those books." The playful look is back on his face.

  "Can't wait." Serena dives in after Kai.

  Once they are booted, robed, and in the archives, Kai motions to her trident. "Let's get started. Show me what you know."

  Serena looks at her new gift, testing its weight in her hands. It is much lighter than the training tridents. Rotating the weapon as she switches hands, the prongs make wide loops in the air.

  Finally, Serena takes aim and throws. The trident sails through the air, prongs first. Shooting straight through a group of training dummies that have been set up, it sticks into a wall. The entire stem quivers at the impact.

  "You missed," says Kai.

  Hardly," she says, walking to the trident and pulling it out of the wall. The three holes left behind underscore a plaque that reads, 'Restricted'.

  "Tell me what you know about the King's Library," she says.

  "Why would you think I know something?"

  "I'm assuming you know more than me, since you've been in there and I haven't."

  Kai crosses the floor to the wall, brushing past Serena. He is shorter than both Murphy and Ervin, but still a head taller than Serena. He isn't very wide, either, but he is quick. His fingertips touch one of the holes.

  He clicks his tongue, looking at Serena. "Mariam will not be happy."

  Serena turns away from his gaze. "I'm sure Mariam isn't happy about any of this." Walking toward the dummy, Serena wraps her arm around the shoulders. "Then again, there are more occupants in the archives than she's had in a long time."

  Kai laughs. One of his feet lifts up and moves back, toeing the line between the forbidden restricted section and the rest of the archives. There is no door; not even here.

  Is he teasing me? Or…Serena's gaze travels up his foot to his ankle and calf. The robe is hiked up a bit.

  Before her cheeks have a chance to flush, she clears her throat. "Are you going in now? I mean, you still need permission, right? Even Mariam needs permission."

  His laugh has melted into a sly smile. "I have managed to get permission from the king in the past, for other reasons than my guard rounds." He brings his toe away.

  "How?" she asks, a frustrated lump forming in her throat.

  Kai doesn't answer. Instead, he walks toward Serena holding out his hand. "May I?"

  Her empty hand twitches by her side, ready to submit. Just in time she realizes he wants her trident. She hands it over, biting her lip.

  "You shouldn't give your weapon up so easily," Kai says, raising an eyebrow. He turns his attention to the trident, running his fingers down the middle prong and over the twisted double stem. His hand moves back, touching the weld where the crescent-moon shape holds the prongs. "I think this section was my trident. It was condensed down—it has to be the strongest part."

  "How did you get permission to visit the king’s library?" Serena asks again. She feels awkward, too aware of herself. "And why did you want it in the first place?"

  "Because," he looks at her, the smile gone from his face, but not his eyes, "I wanted to be Werewolf Liaison." He turns, takes quick aim at the dummy, and throws. The trident flies through the neck, ripping the lifeless head clean off.

  Serena gasps. "Be careful!" she says. "You almost hit the coral encyclopedias!"

  She retrieves the trident, which is wedged in the side of a table. She pulls it loose, almost tripping over the dummy head in the process.

  Still standing in place, the grin is back on Kai's face.

  Serena bends to pick up the head.

  "Leave it," says Kai. "Mariam will think you did it, and maybe word will spread. Perception is a powerful thing."

  Serena straightens, sighing. "Not if Society already has their own opinions of me."

  "I think the tide is turning…" he trails off, an eyebrow raised at Serena. "Anyway, the king let me study up on werewolf history, or more importantly, Undine history with them."

  "Then what?" asks Serena.

  "Then he simply said no. I was to remain with the guard."

  "And you were okay with that?" Serena walks closer to him.

  "Not at first, but he's the king, ya know?" Kai says.

  "Yeah." Serena snorts. "I know."

  "Besides," says Kai. "That was when he made me Murphy's second. Said I had the initiative no one else had shown. After that, I was always too busy to dwell on it. In fact, I hadn't really thought more about it until the night of your Choosing."

  Kai has mastered the art of hiding expressions as well as any of the King's Guard. Serena can't tell if he’s jealous of her job, intrigued, or outright supportive.

  "What did you learn?" Serena gestures to the King's Library, changing the course of the conversation.

  "Nothing I can repeat."

  Serena puts her hands to her temples.

  "But I should tell you," Kai continues, "that you definitely need to get in there. You won't be able to do your job properly otherwise."

  Serena rolls her eyes. "Now you are starting to sound like Nerin." She studies the darkened entryway that leads to the forbidden books, tapping her foot. "Why won't the king give me permission, then?"

  "Because you aren't answering the question correctly." Kai leans in, his voice almost at a whisper. "When he asks why you want access."

  Chills prickle her neck where his breath touches.

  "What is the right answer?" Serena whispers back.

  "I can give you many things, Serena Moon-Shadow," he steps back, placing a hand on her shoulder. "But not that. The reasons are your own."

  "Fine—then give me another answer, Kai." She looks up at him from under her long lashes.

  He waits.

  "What deadline was the king talking about tonight with the wolf?"

  Kai's hand drops from her shoulder. "You heard?"

  Serena nods her head, crossing her arms.

  "Because you weren't supposed to hear that," he says.

  She crosses her arms, staring him down.

  Kai sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. "During the Maiden's Massacre, the king made some sort of agreement with the wolves."

  "Why?" asks Serena.

  "I don't know the specifics," says Kai. "But once the bargain is upheld, the wolves will let the Undine mate again. That is what the deadline is all about."

  "When is the deadline?"

  Kai shrugs. "Soon, Serena—which is why we are all on edge."

  Serena doesn't have time to dwell on what it me
ans. Kai switches moods faster than a mackerel.

  "That is enough talk," he says. "Back to training. I'm going to show you how useful the stem can be as a weapon." Kai reaches for the trident again.

  Serena switches hands, holding it out of his reach.

  Kai smiles. "See? Learning already."