เข้าสู่ระบบSennaSometimes, I wonder how much of me is really me. Or if I’m just a good copy, a clever trick by the moon. The smell of the Ironblood compound, the way the light hit the great hall at dawn It was a Tuesday, I think. Or maybe a Wednesday. The days blur when you’re always busy. Dax was due for his quarterly health check. I set up these checks myself. It’s a good way to keep an eye on everyone, especially the ones at the top. Caius let me do it. He trusts me to do my job. Dax came in right on time. He always does. He’s the kind of man who respects rules, even if he doesn't love them.“Morning, Senna,” he said, his voice level. He wasn’t unfriendly, but he wasn’t warm either. Just… efficient.“Morning, Dax,” I said, looking up from my reports. “Take a seat.”He sat on the examining bench without a fuss. He was a big man, even sitting down, all solid muscle and quiet strength. Caius’s head warrior. He notices things. That’s why he’s always been the one I worry about most, even more t
SennaI saw him standing in the doorway and my heart did a little jump. I hate it when it does that. It was late in the afternoon. The sun was low. The rest of the infirmary was empty. I didn't look up for a long time. But I could feel him there. "If this is another training injury that healed itself overnight, I’m going to start charging you for the inconvenience," I said. I still didn't look up. I tried to make my voice sound bored."No injury," Caius said.His voice was deep. I looked up then. He was leaning against the wood of the doorframe. He looked relaxed, but his eyes were very sharp. He was watching me."Then why are you in my doorway?" I asked.He didn't answer right away. He walked into the room. He didn't go to the tall table where I fix people’s broken bones. He went to the small wooden chair across from my work desk. He sat down. He looked like he belonged there, which was annoying."I wanted to talk to you," he said."About what?""Nothing specific," he said. He paus
SennaThe full moon always made my skin prickle. Not in a good way, like a fresh breeze. More like a warning, like something was coming. "Don't worry," Rhea said, bumping my shoulder. "It's just the lunar gathering. Food, some talk, nothing too exciting."I looked around the central courtyard. Fire pits glowed, sending smoke straight up into the bright moonlight. Lots of people I usually only saw in hallways were out here, mixing up. Alphas, Betas, Omegas... all standing closer than they ever did during the day. It was mandatory. Everyone had to be here. I'd been to one before, but this felt different. Bigger. And Caius was here. Tonight, he was just... there. Standing. Moving. Visible."Nothing exciting?" I said to Rhea. "Look at it. It's like a show. Everyone positioning themselves."Rhea laughed, a soft sound. "You always see everything, Senna. It's just how we do things. A chance to unwind a little.""Unwind?" I asked. "Or make sure everyone knows their place?"She shrugged. "A b
SennaI told myself I was ready. I spent a whole week telling myself that. Ready for Aela. I was in the great hall, putting out the little jars of herbs and the rolled-up scrolls for the medical consultations. Bits of my job. Important bits. It was the second time diplomats from Thornhaven were coming to Ironblood. Then she walked in.Aela. She came in ahead of everyone else. Just her, and then her guards a few paces behind. She looked around the big room. Her eyes found me where I knelt by the long table. I tried to just keep doing my work, acting like I hadn't noticed her. But I saw it. The way her face changed. Just a little. A softening. Like she wasn't mad or anything, just… surprised. And then it was gone. No one else would have seen it. But I did."You're here early," Aela said. Her voice was steady, but I felt the pull again. I picked up a pot of balm. "I'm always here when I'm supposed to be." I didn't look up, but I could feel her watching me. "Fair," she said.I put the p
CaiusDax has that look on his face again.It is the look he gets when he finds a lie he can’t explain.He is holding a thin report, and I already know Senna’s name is on the front of it."Sit down, Dax," I said. I didn't look up from the map on my desk. He doesn't like it when things don't make sense. Neither do I. Usually, that is why we get along so well."I would rather stand, Alpha," Dax said. His voice was flat. "I finished the second round of checks you asked for. I went deeper this time. I contacted the regional healing guilds in the North and the coastal cities. I even sent a runner to the mountain temples.""And?" I asked. I finally looked at him. I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. "What did they say?""They said she doesn't exist," Dax said. He dropped the report onto my desk. "There is no record of a healer named Senna matching her age or her description in any guild library. To be as good as she is, Alpha, she would need years of formal training. You don't jus
SennaI found it right away. Not a big mess. Not things tossed around. Just… wrong. My little room, usually a comfort, felt different. I’d just come back from the woods, my basket full of mugwort and comfrey. The air still had that morning chill smell, but my room felt… stale. I put my basket down. I looked around. Ten seconds. Maybe less.My mortar and pestle, sitting on the shelf by the window. I always pushed it back, just so. Today, it was two inches too far to the left. Just a tiny bit. Someone had used it, or pretended to, then put it back. But not my back.Then the chest, where I kept my spare clothes. The linens folded inside. I have a way. A particular order. Today, two were switched. A small thing. Very small. It meant someone had been there.My work table. I had a small stack of notes. Recipes, herb lists. All innocent. All clear. But the stack, I knew, had been handled. The top one, a list of remedies for winter coughs, was slightly askew. Not much. Just enough.I walked







