Page 116 of Shaped By Discovery

As if he can hear my thoughts, Lyle’s gaze finds mine across the room.

“Alright! You heard her,” Garrett says, turning away from his mother to address the guards, his voice booming with command. I’ve never doubted he would be a good king, even when we were younger and a bit wild. He was my first and only friend for so long, but even when the rest of the kingdom looked at me like I was a disease, he never did. It takes a certain type of person to do what they think is right, regardless of what everyone else says.

“You’ll all ride for the eastern village while we head north. Our main priority is to protect the people. If evacuation is the only way to accomplish that, so be it. Villages can be rebuilt. Their lives are far more important.”

I watch the guards as he speaks. Most nod, but a few look as though they might not agree. One of them is, not surprisingly, Nero. He’s never liked Garrett much, and now that I’m back and the guys are here, it seems his dislike has only grown.

I’m sure it doesn’t help that Lyle broke his nose last week, either.

The guards move out as one. They might not like Garrett’s plan, but they know better than to disobey the prince’s orders, especially not when it was an idea from the queen. The door falls closed behind them with a bang, the fifteen-foot, solid wood door unable to close quietly. Garrett and I learned that the hard way as children when we snuck into the kitchens for sweets one night. We would have gotten away with it had I not pulled the door closed behind us. I’d thought I was being clever, making sure everything was exactly as it was before we snuck in, when, in reality, all I did was alert half the castle that we were there.

The guys move toward me the moment the guards are gone, and I can’t stop the heat that rises to my cheeks as the queen watches with a smirk.

“So, who do I get to ride with?” I ask, half expecting them to laugh or, at the very least, one of them to volunteer. Nobody does; in fact, most of them look away at my question, except Lyle and Storm, who continue to watch me, and Garrett, who glares at Lyle.

Clearly, I’m missing something.

“I mean, I can always ride my own horse. I’m just not very good at it, but it’s no big deal.”

Sol looks even more upset by my offer, his shoulders slumping forward.

I hate it. Sol has always been my partner in crime. He’s quick to joke, laugh, and always down for a little bit of mischief. He’s a lot like Garrett was when we were younger. In a lot of ways, Sol and I were the same when we were younger. He was quiet and nerdy, while Storm was the one who beat the shit out of anyone who dared try and give him a hard time. But as we got older, he found his voice. He’s still a dork, but he’s no longer timid, neither of us are.

Ever since we’ve come here, though, it feels like he’s fallen back into that shell. I know a lot of it had to do with me before, but I thought we moved past that.

Maybe I was wrong.

I move forward, wanting to comfort him somehow, but Lyle’s words make me stop short.

“You’re not coming.”

“What?”

My concern for Sol takes a backseat as I whirl to face Lyle. Sure, I must have misheard him.

Of course, I didn’t, though. The firm set of his jaw tells me I heard him exactly right.

“The villages are under threat from those crazy creatures Draven creates. The queen thinks this is him testing to see how things have changed while he’s been away, to see if the kingdom is better equipped to defend itself.”

Everything he says makes sense, but I can’t see what that has to do with me. Why would that stop me from going with them? My powers wiped them out years ago, and from what Garrett said, it took him a while to rebuild them.

So what would make him think I should stay behind?

I know better than to argue with Lyle when he gets like this it’s like talking to a wall. Not interested in wasting my time or breath, I turn to Garrett; if anyone will understand, it would be him. He was there that night, he saw what I’m capable of firsthand.

“I’m sorry, Rena,” he says before I can say a word. His lips pull up in a sympathetic smile as he rubs the back of his neck.

They already talked about this, before I got here.

That explains Sol’s sad expression, at least, but all it does is piss me off more.

Garrett has no issue telling Lyle when he’s being an ass, but for whatever reason, they all seem to be on his side about this.

What the fuck is going on?

“Bullshit!” I spit. I don’t know if I’m talking to Garrett, Lyle, or both of them at this point, but I’ll be damned if they want to start treating me like a fucking princess now.

“Don’t, Serena, it’s not safe—”

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