When The Heart Sings

Chapter 26

Serena's POV:

We were led to a small cottage and a woman in a long dress answered the door. She frowned as she spotted me, "You expect me to board a human in my home?"

Darien growled and the captain interrupted, "She is his soulmate. That gives her the same rights he has."

The woman frowned, not impressed, but opened up the door wider, "I have a couple of rooms that are open for a few days, but I do not wish to discuss the finer details in a human's hearing."

Darien growled and his muscles tensed up before the woman turned towards him, "My house, my rules. If you wish to sleep on the street, then that is your other option as I have the only available rooms in this town right now."

I rubbed Darien's arm and whispered, "It's okay. I can sit on the front step here with Alex. If anyone approaches, we will call you."

He looked down at me with an unreadable expression before reluctantly sighing as he gave in. He glanced at Alex who was swaying on his feet as he stood, "Do you think you can keep an eye on her for a bit? I think I managed to put a good fright into most of the fighters in the immediate area, so they should keep their distance if they know what is good for them."

Alex considered it, "I am in no shape to stop anyone, but I can keep an eye out and give warning."

I was surprised that Darien was willing to let go of me so soon. The bond must be almost done settling down if he was even able to attempt it after such a close call. Darien very reluctantly took his arm off my shoulders.

He looked deep into my eyes and I could see the anguish underneath that this separation was causing him. He turned towards the woman and his expression turned cold and hard. I walked to the side to sit on the edge of the steps as I gazed at the woman's garden beside the porch.

"Don't touch the plants, they are priceless heirlooms from my ancestors." The woman's words were abrupt almost to the point of being rude.

Darien idly commented to the captain, "I think I will have to kill her so she learns some manners."

His calm comment was more dangerous than a snarl when he was in this mood. I exchanged a worried glance with Alex. The captain noticed and tried to calm the situation down, "Hostess, please recall your manners. I believe we have details to discuss since you are forcing half of your guests to remain on your porch?"

She headed back inside, unhappy with the rebuke. Darien sent me one last look before reluctantly following her. The captain followed Darien inside while giving him plenty of space. I turned my attention to the flowers. I had always loved plants. I didn't recognize any of these plants, not that I had expected to since I was on a different planet.

They were flourishing, well, all except one was. It was an old shrub of some sort. It was ancient, with twisted bark and a few dark green leaves. It had one tiny snow-white flower that seemed to shimmer. The plant was barely alive.

It saddened me to see it like this. I disliked the hostess, but that was no reason to let the plant suffer. I started humming very softly as I tested out the plant to see what was wrong with it and encourage it to grow. Plants loved music and it never took much for them to respond.

There was some sort of fungus under the bark hidden from sight and it only took several notes to destroy the hidden killer. A few notes later, I trailed off. Even those last few notes had put small leaf and flower buds on the plant. Its bark was also a bit brighter. I didn't want to make any sort of noticeable difference that could be commented upon, so I left it at that.

I turned to watch the small road idly before looking over at Alex. He was watching the empty road alertly in case of potential trouble. I bet Darien would hear anyone approaching before we either saw or heard them. I felt bad for Alex, although I was pretty sure that some of his bruises were already starting to fade. "How are you holding up?"

Alex glanced at me, "Our kind heals pretty fast. By morning, I will be more or less fully recovered. The better question would be, how are you doing?"

I gazed absently at the road, "Now that Darien is here, I have no worries. I know he won't let anyone hurt me."

Alex sent me a kind look, "He would take on anything that may even think of harming you. However, that wasn't entirely what I meant. I have not heard anyone other than Darien or myself genuinely speak a kind word to you yet, even at Nick's place."

I was silent for a moment before replying softly, "I was a waitress for years. I am used to ignoring the hurtful words. Do the words hurt? Of course, but how could they not unless I had no heart at all? In truth, I pity the person who says those words, for it only shows how poor they truly are. I wasn't quite living on the street, but it was close enough and I was never so poor as to let my situation control how I treated others. I decided long ago that I would never stoop so low as to strike at someone's feelings."

Alex was silent, probably thinking about what I had said. We sat in companionable silence. A few people walked by on the street and I got a few stares, but none approached the pathway leading to the cottage, possibly due to how Alex glared at them. Or possibly due to the fact that Darien had beat the snot out of six big green guys who had made around a hundred warriors nervous.

The bond shifted as Darien came closer, and Alex looked back over his shoulder towards the door. It opened moments later and Darien was the first one out. He came to stand behind me as he looked me over as if to ensure that I was still in one piece. I leaned back against his legs as I looked up at him. His eyes softened as he watched me.

I was tired of sitting on this hard wooden step. I held up one hand and Darien gently pulled me to my feet before wrapping his arms around me and pulling me against his chest. We stood like that for a few seconds.

I glanced over to see the woman watching in surprise. The captain also looked a bit startled. Alex was used to our contact by now and didn't even glance at us as he subtly gave us what privacy he could while sitting a few feet away.

The hostess cleared her throat, "I would like to welcome you to my place. Darien informs me that you will only be staying until the morning. Until then, I am pleased to be your hostess."

I had a feeling that the last sentence was not directed at me. Alex stood up with a wince, although he didn't seem to be in as much pain as before.

Darien turned to guide us inside, and I paused as we passed the woman, speaking softly, "Thank you for your hospitality. I didn't touch your plants, but I noticed that the one is ailing and has an ant nest in its roots. The plant will likely recover if the ants are removed."

A look of surprise crossed her face before I let Darien guide me inside. There had been a very small ant nest and I was sure she would remove it now that I had mentioned it. The plant would recover even if she didn't bother the ants.