All Chapters of My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian : Chapter 201 - Chapter 210

SeraI walked back into the room alone. The heavy oak door groaned on its hinges before the iron latch clicked, sealing the mess inside with me. Fenris had gone to handle the elders, leaving his scent behind—iron and that dark musk that usually settled my nerves. Right now, it didn't help. The air in here was thick. It carried the metallic sting of blood and the sharp, medicinal bite of the healer’s camphor. Feathers from the sliced mattress were still drifting through the air, settling on the floorboards and sticking to the red stains around the chair.My mother sat there, propped up with pillows. Her face was pale under the layer of sweat, her blonde hair matted and messy. She didn't have her crown. She didn't have her dignity. She only had the bandage wrapped tight around her ribs.I didn't go to her. I stood by the table, staring at the shredded silk of her crimson dress."We didn't do it," I said. My voice sounded flat in the quiet space. "We didn't cut him open."Irina’s eyes nar

SeraMy mother’s eyes flickered, the pupils contracting as if I’d shone a torch in them. She didn’t scream. She didn't throw another judgment. A small, thin smile pulled at the corner of her mouth—a ghost of the woman who knew how to survive a king's temper."Good luck then," she answered.I reached for the iron latch, my fingers wrapping around the cold metal. I paused. I looked back over my shoulder."I actually have a surprise for you," I said. I let a bit of the ice bleed into my expression. "You'll love it."Irina shifted against her pillows, the movement making her wince as the fresh stitches pulled at her skin. "What is it?"I shrugged, the wool of the tunic rubbing against my bruised ribs. "It wouldn't be a surprise then, would it?"She gave a single, jerky nod. I turned away, the latch clicking as I prepared to step out into the hall."Seraphina."The use of my full name stopped me. I turned around, my spine rigid.Irina was struggling to her feet. She pushed the furs aside,

AldricThe steward had sent word the moment their carriage came through the gate. Two survivors, he'd said. I'd had enough time to decide, before they walked in, that two was a more interesting number than three.The door opened. Irina first, then the captain behind her. He pulled it shut with both hands. I set down the letter I was reading and looked at them — and then at the space behind the captain's shoulder where the door had closed."Where's Torin?"It was the captain who answered. He said they'd been attacked on the return journey. Rogue wolves. Two days out from the border. Torin and the guards hadn't made it. Only the two of them came out of it.I was quiet for a moment.I looked at Irina. Then I tilted my head, just slightly, taking her in. She was standing with her back straight and her coat still buttoned, her hair done — she'd have fixed it before coming up, stopped somewhere to manage herself before this meeting. I'd expected that. What I hadn't finished deciding was what

Aldric"Apparently, our daughter prefers women."I watched it land. I watched her face — the way her brows came down into the small, immediate frown of someone receiving information that doesn't fit what they know. I nodded, letting it settle in. I held my cup out slightly, and chuckled."I was very surprised too," I said.Irina shook her head. "That can't be true," she said.I shrugged. My lips pressed together, even, noncommittal. "I’m just as surprised as you are."She stared. The information was still sitting in the air between us, unprocessed, too new to know what to do with it.Almost immediately, a knock, and the door came open. The senior maid — twelve years in this house, absolute discretion, knows exactly when to appear and when to become invisible. She greeted me with her customary composure, and then turned to Irina with a genuine smile, warm and unperformative."Welcome home, my Queen. We're so glad you're back.""Irina." I set down my glass. "I know this is a lot to sit

IrinaI made it to the bedside chair before my legs went out.The chair was velvet. Cold against my palms when I gripped the armrests. I sat there for a long minute with my mouth open and my throat working, breathing through my teeth, trying not to make a sound that would carry into the corridor. My chest had been holding the same shape for the last two hours and the muscles weren't sure how to do anything else. Down by the door I could still hear the senior maid's footsteps fading into the carpet, and then nothing.For the first time since the carriage had crossed back into Valdris territory, I was not being watched.I drew a breath in through my nose.Lemon oil. Beeswax. The faint sweet rose of the soap the maids used in the linen press. The fire in the hearth was a clean orange, the wood already burned down to the second log, and the smoke smelled the way smoke was supposed to smell in a civilized house — like a fire, and nothing else. No iron in the air. No stone. No three-deep wo