The warmth at her back disappeared around a corner with Fin and a captain, and Serena stood alone in the entrance hall of a castle that wasn't hers, surrounded by people who hadn't decided yet whether she belonged.
When she was with Fin, the stares were curiosity. Alone, a third of them looked at her like she'd tracked mud into their home.
She'd thought she'd outgrown the flinch. Her body hadn't gotten the message. Her shoulders pulled inward half an inch before she forced them back.
The two throne rooms she stormed had dirty looks too. But it stung more with wolves than it did with Fae.
In a castle full of strangers, confidence was the only armor that didn't require magic. She kept her head up and started walking like she had somewhere to be.
By some grace, she found a set of glass double doors left ajar like an invitation, and Serena took it. A courtyard with a moss-edged fountain at its center. Flowers she couldn't name. Silence that felt like permission to exhale.
