When The Heart Sings

Chapter 81

Saphira's POV:

I walked beside Serena as we headed back to the rest of the group. It was disappointing that she was having such trouble locating the cause, but I knew she was trying. We all knew it.

I kept tabs on Serena's breathing rate, but it was still normal. Darien was also certainly doing the same. She was able to come here for short visits, but it wasn't wise for her to stay here for more than a day. We headed towards the village and one of the locals told us that the visitors were at the administrative building.

We headed over there. This building wasn't that large, and it was not the true place where the elders tended to congregate. This one had been built here since it was close to a waygate and it was a good place to greet dignitaries or important travellers. Not that we had very many of those.

Three Dranek elders were guiding the Council members through the airy hallways along with the handful of other Tarulk who had also accepted the invitation to come. We joined the group seamlessly enough, although all of them had certainly noticed our absence earlier.

I was getting accustomed to the sviper's presence, but it was not easy or simple. I had encountered some dangerous predators on this planet as well as on other planets, but none of them had affected me so. I knew Schlach would not attack me unless I started the fight, but it was not possible to really relax around him.

The other Dranek I had spoken to felt the same way, and judging from how the Tarulk reacted, they likely had the same reaction. He may not mean us any harm, but he was still a deadly predator and had the unconscious air of something that had never been beaten in a fight.

Even Darien had been tense around him at first - and he was able to read Schlach's emotions. Schlach had protected Serena though, and considering how Darien didn't mind his presence now, I suspected Darien had picked something out of Schlach's mind that reassured him.

Schlach seemed curious about Serena, and I noticed that he often watched her with his red eyes. Serena didn't seem to notice, or if she did, she didn't seem to mind. She was almost as happy to see him as she was to see me. So far, she was the only one with zero fear of the sviper. Her complete lack of fear seemed to amuse Schlach.

I watched the dignified sviper as he listened to the elder's words as they wrapped up their tour and went back outside. The Tarulk likely hadn't noticed the occasional Dranek high in the trees who were curious to get a look at the visitors. Schlach didn't look up, but I was positive that he knew they were there. His climbing skills were superior to any Dranek, with his four dexterous clawed feet and that long tail for balance.

The group slowly walked back to the waygate. There was someone already keying in the codes for the Tarulk waygate that we had come through earlier. Serena eyed up the waygate with mild dislike as she leaned against Darien's side, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. She wasn't scared of the waygate, but she still wasn't fond of it.

The waygate opened without too much delay and those waiting started passing through. I passed through the waygate ahead of Serena and Darien in case any trouble lurked on the other side. One could never be too careful, although I suspect that if trouble had been waiting, Schlach's earlier passage would have caught it completely off-guard.

The Tarulk who had remained behind were still present and keeping an eye on the carts we had used to come out here. I suspected that they had used the carts more out of courtesy towards Serena than anything else. About half of the Tarulk had chosen to jog beside the carts on our trip out.

The animals were hitched to the carts even before we got to the temporary camp. It wasn't long before we started to head back. I had no problem jogging beside the cart. Schlach also had no problem keeping up, but that didn't surprise me in the least.

After an hour of travelling Darien started to grow restless, "I am so tempted to just cut cross country. It would get us back in half the time."

I turned my head to examine Darien and those around us, it was unusual for him to become restless if Serena was on his lap, unless someone was making her uncomfortable. No one in this group seemed bothered by Serena's presence, so unless Darien was picking up something with his reading ability, I didn't see anything amiss.

Alex and Fiona were in the cart ahead of us and Alex turned back to look at us, "That isn't exactly wise with the number of predators around here. I know warg and such won't even slow you, but there are other things around."

Serena covered a yawn with her hand and she leaned her head against Darien's chest. Even if true singing had no results, the powerful magic still tired out the human. This was probably what had Darien restless, he would be able to sense that she was tired even if she tried to cover it up, and a rough ride in a wagon was not exactly ideal for a quick nap.

Schlach agreed with Darien's opinion of our slow pace, "The carts will not manage the trails, but if you want to carry Serena, we can make our own way through the forest instead of going all the way around. Not much will even consider bothering us if I am with you."

On a planet crawling with all manner of predatory things, almost nothing would even consider bothering a sviper. As if I needed more evidence of where that race ranked in the food chain. Darien examined the sviper for a moment as he thought about the offer, before getting to his feet with Serena in his arms.

I moved to the side so he could jump down. Schlach moved behind the wagon as he headed towards the trees on the side of the road. Darien shifted Serena in his arms before following the sviper. I sped up to keep pace with him. A glance upwards showed that the other five Dranek had been close enough to see us peel away from the group and they were already travelling with us.

Darien ran between Schlach and me while Serena gazed at the forest around us with curious and somewhat sleepy eyes. We slowly picked up speed to an easy run. Schlach kept sniffing the air and occasionally detoured around something. We never saw any larger animals and I suspected he was able to smell them or their trails.

It was a comfortable silence and the steady smooth pace soon had Serena's blinks lasting longer and longer. Eventually, she nuzzled her head against Darien's chest and her eyes didn't open again. Darien's eyes glanced down at her and softened as he gazed at her while somehow knowing exactly where to put his feet.

A snapping branch had his head turning as his sharp eyes sought out potential trouble. It was just some small harmless animal though, which rapidly scurried away. Schlach raised his nose in the air once more, before detouring yet again.

We made it all the way to Darien's guesthouse without stumbling across any large predator. I opened the door for Darien and he went inside with a nod of thanks. I closed the door as I scanned the outside area, but didn't see anything amiss. The other guards were silent as they circled the house in the trees.

Schlach spoke quietly, "I do not think they will leave the house for several hours."

He was correct, Serena would probably sleep for another hour as long as Darien didn't put her down, which I couldn't see him doing. Then it would be about time for supper.

"As long as Lucas doesn't disturb them, then we probably won't see them until early evening." And there was a decent chance that Darien might just hang a Do Not Disturb sign on their door to keep others away. Both Darien and Serena liked a fair bit of time alone and the constant presence of people made them just want some peace and quiet.

I started walking along the path and Schlach walked beside me. Schlach glanced at the sun, "The others will take at least another hour before they arrive, so I think I will go investigate some of the older documents in the library. It may be best if you could track down Lucas and ensure he knows that he should not bother those two."

"I can probably track him down, although he doesn't always take hints, or even direct orders."

Schlach bared his teeth in a slight grin, "And if he argues, send him to me."

Part of me almost hoped that Lucas would argue, but even he seemed hesitant to disturb Darien if the mate bond was affecting him.

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