Page 98 of Shaped By Discovery

We’d gotten a tour of the castle before the queen sent us each away with homework of sorts while Serena and Garrett were off gods only knew where.

It’s still hard to believe that she’s from here. I always knew she was different and special in a way that nobody else was, but… this was outside my scope of imagination.

We also found out that Garrett is her mate.

Just thinking about it pisses me off all over again.

“Let’s go,” Blair calls as he walks past me toward the door.

None of us have gone back to the rooms we were given, unwilling to leave Serena alone for fear she might disappear again. At least, that’s how it started. I can’t speak for the others, but I’m no longer concerned she will run off, not now that she has a chance to find answers. Yet, I still can’t bring myself to go to my room, even if it means sleeping and staying in Garrett’s, which was the only one big enough for all of us.

I grumble, something incoherent, as I pull myself away from the book I’d been staring at without reading for the last twenty minutes to follow after him. He doesn’t wait, and I don’t expect him to. Serena being out of sight in this place is just as stressful for him as it is for me, if not for different reasons.

I know she’ll be there for training, though, and I’m not too proud to admit that’s my main reason for going. I have no doubt this realm will teach us a great deal, but it all pales in comparison when stacked against her.

Everything does.

We train with Garrett and the guards for the better part of the afternoon before the queen comes out to announce dinner.

Nero, the asshole we met on the first day, unfortunately, seems to be their head guard. He trains us hard, and much to his very obvious disappointment, we do well. Our beasts allow us to learn quickly, move faster, and train longer than some of their higher-ranked guards. We still have a lot to learn since we lack years of experience, but I can see from the sour expression he’d hoped for our failure. I’m exhausted by the end and debate skipping dinner to go to sleep instead, but the look on his face makes it worth it.

Serena didn’t train with us. Rosalynn told her to take it easy for the first few days and focus on her shadows. Who would have thought she knew how to listen? Despite that, I can see the exhaustion written all over her face. I agree she should be working on her element, trying to reconnect to her beast, but I worry she’s pushing herself too hard. In the end, I go to dinner to keep an eye on her.

The dining hall is vast, with long rows of tables spanning from the entrance to the head table. Each one is set to perfection, with huge platters of food and pitchers of different drinks scattered from one end to the other so that everyone can serve themselves. Chandeliers with hundreds of candles hang from the ceiling, lighting every corner of the room as we all pile in and find seats. A large fireplace covers about half of the wall on the right, warming the room. It’s not cold out exactly, but the castle has a bit of a chill at night.

The king and queen are both seated at the main table. A few chairs are open on either side of them, but only one has a place setting, and I’d bet it’s meant for Garrett.

I hang back, watching as he leads us through the sea of people to the center of the middle table before he drops into a seat and waves us over to join him. His mother’s face falls for a moment before she forces a smile again, and I get the feeling she’s missed him more than she lets on. She doesn’t seem particularly upset that he isn’t sitting with them, but the same can’t be said for the king. He watches Garrett with a sour face as Storm drops down beside him.

Strange.

I watch Pike, Sol, and Blair sit across from them, and they fall into easy conversation. Serena lags a bit, looking around as if uncertain where she should be. It’s strange, considering she seems familiar with the castle and her newfound memories, but right now, she looks lost. I move toward her, unsure of what she needs but willing to do whatever it is to get that dejected look off her face. Before I get to her, one of the servers carrying the food nearly slams into her. Serena quickly moves out of the way, and I can read the apology on her lips even from here.

That doesn’t seem to do any good, though. Instead of moving on, the server turns to her with a look of disgust on her face and says something. I’m too far away to hear what was said, but I know it wasn’t good when Serena’s face fell even farther. I watch, silently fuming, as the server turns, her head held high and marches away.

“Don’t.” A hand closes around my wrist, and I don’t need to look to know it’s Serena. I’d know her voice anywhere, the same way I know her touch, which sends little bolts of electricity zipping through me.

I turn back to find her big blue eyes looking up at me, pleading. It takes me a moment to realize why. We stand near a small door off the fireplace’s far side. It doesn’t take much to figure out that it’s the servant’s quarters. Without realizing it, I’d followed the girl who’d just given Serena a hard time.

“Please don’t make a scene, Lyle,” Serena begs me, her grip on my arm tightening as if she plans to hold me back. She couldn’t. She knows as well as I do that if I wanted to, I could break her hold, especially with her beast MIA. But we also both know I won’t; she might not be able to overpower me physically, but damn her and the begging.

Over the years, I’ve gotten better at not giving in, to the point that it’s become somewhat of a game with us. Serena loves testing me, but it doesn’t seem like she’s playing right now. Looking down at her, I see her panic, and I’m not sure if she’s worried I’ll make a scene or about something entirely different, but it doesn’t matter because I cave.

Serena’s been through a lot lately, and all I want is for her to rest and get better. If this will stress her out, I’ll leave it be—at least for now.

When I don’t pull away from her, she relaxes, letting out a breath of what I can only assume is relief.

“Thank you,” she mumbles with a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. I nod, unable to trust myself to speak. If I open my mouth right now, I will most likely say something that will get me in trouble; most things I say tend to do that with her. Instead, I file them all away for later and let her drag me back toward the others, where they sit eating, most of them seemingly unaware of what just happened.

All except Blair, that is. He’s always watching Serena, and I doubt he missed whatever the hell that just was.

The next few days are a lot of the same. Serena is often with us while we train but doesn’t participate in the actual training. She quickly disappears after, either with the queen or into the library to work with her shadows. She’s exhausting herself, and I hate it, but I know she wants answers, wants to understand her element, and, more than anything, wants her beast back.

I can’t imagine what it must be like not to have access to your beast. Storm had mentioned that his time down in the ‘dungeon’ had been a bit like that. Curious, I had him bring me down there last night, and while it was strange, it wasn’t the same. Whatever magic protects that place doesn’t take your beast away as much as it puts it to sleep.

I couldn’t access him, but he was still there.

The way Serena described it was as if she were missing a piece, a part of herself that she knew should be there but simply wasn’t. We’ve been doing all we can to help her, but nothing seems to be working. I’ve never felt more useless in my life.

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