Page 84 of Shaped By Darkness

“It didn’t work out like that, though. Draven knew just what to say to win Aranyani over, and before you know it, Ryker was here and everything had gone from bad to worse. Salona had fallen, and with no king, it became the perfect testing grounds. It wasn't just the forest that suffered under Draven, though, and he didn't only take his wrath out on the mortals.”

Theo trails off, and the room is left in a silence that feels suffocating.

It's Ryker who finally breaks the silence.

"So my mother was evil, too?" He sounds distraught, and I'm not the only one who hears it. Serena looks at him, and I see the concern that shines in her eyes, the urge to comfort him, though she has no idea how.

What do you say to someone who just found out so much in such a short time? His life has been turned upside down, and while I might not like him, I can understand how that feels. My life seems to enjoy trying to keep me on my toes.

As much as I hate it, the best thing for him is having someone, and it looks like that person might be Serena.

I grit my teeth and suck in a deep breath in through my nose before slowly exhaling out through my mouth as she moves into his side, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest.

Nobody else bats an eye. Looking around, I realize they're all much more at ease with him. This can't be their first meeting. But of course it's not; none of them would let him keep them away the way I did.

I trust Serena.

Some of the tension bleeds from my body. I know it will take time, but I'm determined to give him a chance, if only for her.

I won't hesitate to kill him if he tries something to hurt her, but as I watch them, I'm almost positive that won't happen.

Serena holds him tight, as if attempting to hold him together. I've been on the receiving end of her love. I know how all-consuming it feels, how world-changing and amazing it is. There's no way to explain it, and I'm not sure if it's because she's my mate or just because she's Serena, but it doesn't matter. I can see that he feels it from the dumbfounded look on his face.

Ryker's a monster; nobody can change my mind about that, but maybe he can be saved. I'm not sure he deserves it, but I'm not the one who gets to decide that; none of us are. If anyone can save him, it's Serena; same goes for Lyle. She's always done the impossible, so I won't be betting against her now.

I watch as the shock melts off Ryker's face, and slowly, almost hesitantly, he moves to return her embrace. He's stiff and looks like he's not sure what he's doing, but his face evens out and the deep furrow in his brows from Theo's words disappears, at least for the moment.

Nobody moves as Serena comforts him. Nobody speaks, instead watching them, just as I am.

I'm not sure if either of them knows it, but I'd bet my throne Ryker's in love with Serena.

Hell, she might love him too, but I'm unsure if he even knows what that is. His father's a monster, and from what Theo said so far, his mother isn't much better.

"Mother wasn't bad. She was just upset, and Draven used that anger to manipulate her." Theo's words cut through the room, ringing with power and anger. I've only met Theo once before this, but from what I've seen and heard, she's bubbly and easygoing. She didn't even flinch when Pike almost ripped her throat out.

Whatever must have happened in the past clearly doesn't sit well with her, and it shouldn't. After all, Aranyani is her mother, which would also make Ryker her half-brother.

What the fuck...

A demigod—I've never read of the gods mixing with the mortals, although with them being around for so long, I guess it was bound to happen.

“Aranyani disappeared after Salona fell. Nobody knew where she went, and because of that, we were forced to leave as well. Trust between the mortals and the gods was broken, the lands suffered, and the forest changed, as did those who inhabited them.”

That’s why the Forgotten Forest is like this, because of Draven. I’d always thought it was because Salona fell, though it would seem everything roots back to him.

“So, if everyone was forced to leave, how are you here? Are you looking for Aranyani?” Sol asks, looking deep in thought. I’m glad he’s following because right now I feel like everything is going too fast and I can’t seem to grasp it.

Everything I know is wrong.

“Oh no,” Theo says, shaking her head with more force than necessary. “Mother returned a few hundred years after she went missing.” She looks at Ryker, her eyes sad and her lips pulled down in a frown that seems out of place when she was so happy last I met her and even just earlier. “It broke her heart to leave you.”

“What?”

For a moment, Ryker looks like he’s going to run. If not for Serena holding him, I think he might have.

The room quiets as Ryker and Theo hold each other’s gaze, his mouth opening and closing a few times as he attempts to say something and fails.

It’s Serena who finally breaks the silence, asking the question I’m sure Ryker wants to know but is afraid to ask. “Why did she leave him?”

---