Page 90 of The Last Syphon

Larissa scoffed. “When are you going to learn? No one else wants to sit with you. We’re the only ones. And if you want to be our friend, you need to do everything we say, when we say it.”

“Yeah,” the twin on the left said.

“Everything we say,” the twin on the right said.

All three of them continued to berate and put Na-Ri down, saying harsh and cruel things about how no one would ever want to be her friend. She was useless. She should be grateful to even be talking to them.

With each word, Inara grew angrier and angrier, fury almost beating inside her chest. Fraener immediately sensed the change in her mood and jumped from her shoulder, changing form. He landed with a harsh bang on the marble floor, his body suddenly the size of a horse. The dragon’s wings flexed wide, and he growled low in his throat. His gold-and-black eyes were locked firmly on Larissa.

An image pushed its way into her mind of Fraener clutching Larissa in his talons and flying over the Shadowed Seas, dropping her into the water. Not a moment later, her body was swarmed by Pregon’s Guardians—Basilisks—and they ate her alive.

An evil smirk curled on Inara’s lips. I have to say, I love the way you come up with new and ingenious ways to kill that woman.

Humour trickled through the soul-link along with the feeling of a question, as if he was asking her if that’s what she wanted him to do. The persistent hammering in her bones told her all she needed to know. One simple word, one simple thought, and he would do it for her.

Inara thought of something better.

“Hang on.”

Prince Walder paused. He looked over his shoulder, arching a brow.

“Come this way.”

Without waiting for confirmation, Inara averted, heading in Na-Ri’s direction. She wasn’t sure if he would, in fact, follow. Technically, he didn’t need to. As long as they were in the same room, Inara was confident she could guard him, even from a distance. But he simply shrugged and took up step behind her.

Inara marched with confidence, her footsteps sure and even, Fraener clomping at her side as she walked. Conversation stilled when she reached Na-Ri’s table, Larissa and the twins clamping their mouths shut.

“Mind if we sit with you?”

At first, Na-Ri didn’t answer, almost as if she couldn’t quite believe those words had been uttered to her. Then, slowly, her head rose, green eyes glistening with unshed tears snapping to Inara.

“Uh…” Na-Ri glanced around. “I-I’m sorry?”

Inara smiled. “I was wondering if we could sit with you?”

“You—you want to sit with me?”

Nodding, Inara placed her plate down on the table, a smile still firmly in place. “Yes. If that’s okay with you?”

Almost involuntarily, her eyes moved to Larissa, who was glaring at her. With a subtle shake of her head, the Shielder told Na-Ri not to.

Na-Ri bit her lip, indecisiveness warring inside her.

Inara didn’t want to make the woman uncomfortable in any way or force her to do something she didn’t want to do. So she merely continued to smile, hoping to offer her some semblance of kindness.

She elbowed Prince Walder in the ribs. It hurt, because whatever his armour was made out of felt fucking indestructible. “Smile,” she hissed under her breath. “Look friendly.”

He rolled his eyes and smiled.

“Oh. My.” The words left Inara’s mouth before she could stop herself.

“What?” he frowned.

She cleared her throat. “Nothing. Just…didn’t realise you’re actually kind of handsome.” Kind of was an understatement. He looked entirely different when he smiled. It was the kind of smile that lit up the room. Radiant. Warm. Almost…captivating.

Who fucking knew.

Certainly not her.