A Court of Truths and Revival

The Gardener

SEREN

Bolstering laughter pulled Seren from bed. She'd begrudgingly let her mother tuck her in, but straining her ears as she held one to the cracked door, she heard no sign of her.

Deeming it safe, she padded out, carefully avoiding the creaky floorboards that might give her away.

"Did you see that female making moon eyes at me earlier?" Cassian drawled as Seren paused to ensure she hadn't been caught.

"Funny," her brother smoothly replied, "I was certain she'd been looking at me."

"Az?" Cassian questioned. "Care to claim the lovely female had been eyeing you too?"

Distracted, Seren nearly slipped down the top stair, but caught herself and sat where she could hear but remain unseen.

There was a quiet pause before, "I observed her watching you both." Another second of silence passed. "Before she turned to her friend and snickered that you were nothing more than mindless brutes thinking only with your—"

Pressure filled Seren's ears as if she were dunked underwater, drowning out the rest of Azriel's chiding. Frantically, she thwacked both her ears until a pair of shadows were dislodged.

She screeched.

Three thundering sets of feet scrambled up the stairs as she batted at the shadows that refused to leave her alone.

"Seren," Rhys breathed as his eyes darted around. Cassian barreled past to search the upper floor. "What's happened? What are you doing out of bed? Mother is going to wring my neck if she returns and you're awake."

At six, Seren thought herself plenty old enough to decide when she ought to go to bed, but no one else saw it that way. Rarely did she get to stay overnight in Illyria when visiting her brother and she was reluctant to miss any of it.

"You woke me up," she said as she stood and put her hands on her hips. The defiant pose only lasted a heartbeat before she felt the cool tickle of those shadows skim the outer membrane of her wings.

Before Rhys could start to argue, she spun and tried to catch them, but they weren't corporeal enough to grasp and bash against the wall.

"Eavesdropping on conversations not meant for little girls," Rhys concluded as he lightly grasped her shoulders and turned her back to face him.

"I was not!" She stuck her tongue out with a scowl that Rhys matched.

"My shadows think otherwise," Azriel quietly said, stopping the argument about to break out.

"Their bothersome," she said with a pout as she tried to flick them away again.

"My thoughts exactly," Cassian agreed with a laugh. "Can't imagine having to deal with them while—"

"Cass," Rhys barked, stopping him short.

Azriel whispered something too low for Seren to hear in Rhys's ear. Her brother's lip curled up in a knowing smile as Azriel stepped forward and leaned over so his face was level with her own.

"Why don't you try to say hello to them, Seren? They seem to like you."

Indeed, they were incessant in their attempts to get her attention.

Feeling ridiculous but realizing it meant she got to remain out of bed a moment longer, she squeaked, "Hello..." The shadows seemed to shimmer as they glided over her shoulders and curled together like a necklace.

Rhys snickered and held back laughter, but Seren remained entranced. "You gave my position away."

One shadow arched up to her cheek and offered an apologetic caress.