The Red Wolf's Daughter (Book 3 Part 2: The Making of the Siran)

Chapter 22

Caroline took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Her eyes were wide, and she looked at me, shocked and amazed before she looked at Fernos, who had appeared again for some reason. "How..?"

I shrugged and cleared my throat while I grimaced and shook my head. "Don't ask," I said and steadied her before I let go of her arm. "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged and grimaced while she looked at me. "Ok," she said. "It's not something that I like doing," she admitted, and I nodded because I understood what she meant. She narrowed her eyes and scowled while she studied me, and I looked at her innocently. "How are you not that badly affected by it?"

"I don't know," I replied honestly. "Fernos won't tell me." I pressed my lips into a thin line and cleared my throat while I shifted on my feet. "My grandfather never told me, and he won't tell me either." I gestured to Fernos, and Caroline looked at him before she looked at me. "He has no familial connections, no ties, nothing whatsoever, but he won't tell me."

"Is... it something dangerous?" she asked and looked between us, and I shook my head.

"My grandfather is just scared," I said with a shrug, "of what, I don't know, but I do know that he is scared." I gestured towards Fernos, and Fernos stood taller and became more stoic while he set his jaw. "He doesn't know how to deal with me yet, so he is all tense and stubborn. I don't think he wants to know and is also scared of what the future holds for both me and him."

Fernos pressed his lips into a thin line and narrowed his eyes. He scowled, and I could tell that he didn't like me saying that he was scared about what the future held for us.

I bit back a small scoff and rolled my eyes. "You do too, Fernos, so don't act like you aren't," I said, and he narrowed his eyes and scowled further.

He didn't say a word and pursed his lips in annoyance. His whole body was tense, and he waited for me to say or do something else, which I had no idea what to do.

Caroline cleared her throat and shifted on her feet. "Should... we go see everyone?" Caroline asked and looked between us, and we stopped staring at each other and looked at her with similar expressions on our faces. "Where is Cooper?"

"Around," Fernos replied coldly. "Why?"

Caroline shrugged and stayed silent. She looked away from the two of us, and I could tell that she was nervous about having to be near Cooper.

"If he yells at you for being out, then I will yell at him louder," I said. "I am done with his bull shit, and I have the energy to be a bigger pain in the ass than I was a few days ago. Now, let's go ahead and go see them. I think I scared Uris when I almost fell..." I rubbed the back of my neck and grimaced sheepishly, feeling guilty.

"You scared me too," Caroline admitted, and I smiled at her apologetically. She cleared her throat and grew serious while she shifted on her feet. "They haven't been moved, so they are in the same place they had been yesterday."

I nodded relieved. "Good," I said before I cleared my throat. "Now, let's go see them and make sure that they are as comfortable as they can be." I started to walk that way, and Caroline and Fernos trailed behind me with Fernos becoming one with the shadows again.

"I wonder if my grandmother put something in my pouch so that they can walk around freely in their tents but not leave them," I said randomly while I walked to them.

"What?" Caroline asked while she followed me but moved to my side, and I cringed, silently cursing my stupid mouth.

Shit...

I shook my head and cleared my throat, my cheeks turning slightly. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

And with that, I walked a little faster, and both Caroline and Fernos followed, staying silent.