When The Heart Sings

Chapter 31

Serena's POV:

The sprawling building was massive and I could smell the salty water of the ocean in the air. Darien told me that the ocean was just to the west, although the distant treeline prevented me from seeing it. Ahead of us, there was a huge stone wall surrounding the Council Building with numerous guards patrolling the tops.

The walls were probably two stories tall, but the building behind it was taller. I could also see bare tree branches of a single tree towering high into the sky. The tree looked massive from here and it made the wall in front of it look like a mere retaining wall.

Darien was watching those on the wall with a calculating gaze. He reached under the seat and pulled out a large rectangular shield before propping it up behind the seat, "If someone starts firing arrows, curl up on the floor and pull the shield on top of you. Okay?"

I nodded nervously, I really hoped that we didn't have people shooting at us. We slowed as we approached the gate. Darien's muscles tensed, partially in response to my nerves and partly because of the reaction I usually brought out in any Tarulk.

The leader of the warrior group had jogged ahead to have a word with the guards at the gate. The guards watched us pass through with narrowed eyes. They did not like me here and their expressions communicated that clearly.

Inside the gate was a huge grassy area, but what held my attention was that tree. It was the biggest tree I had ever seen. It vaguely resembled an oak tree, although it was a type of tree I had never seen before. It was massive with huge branches spreading in all directions. The base was so big that fifteen people would have been unable to reach around the base if they held hands.

It saddened my heart to see that it was mostly dead. Only a scattering of pale gold leaves adorned the various branches. It looked like it was in a slow decline. I wasn't sure what ailed it, but a short faint hum was not going to be sufficient to help this tree.

We were quickly guided past the tree, although I noticed that all of the Tarulk, including Alex and Darien, glanced at the tree sadly as we went by it. We reached the massive building far too quickly for my tastes.

The guards at the main door scowled, but let us in. The one in charge of the warrior group led us down the hallway while the rest of the fighters remained outside. This place had quite a few people going here and there on their various tasks. Most who spotted me were upset.

At long last, we were guided into a huge room with a dozen people on a raised semi-circle platform. The old men all sported grey hair as they worked through several piles of paper on the desks in front of them. They were high enough that it enabled them to look down upon those in the room.

One of the men looked down and frowned, "Who allowed a human on this planet?"

Darien growled at his tone and took a step forward, pushing me slightly behind him, "Another Tarulk who wanted me on this planet brought her here forcefully. If there was a way to leave, we would have been long gone. But that isn't possible at the moment. She is my soulmate and anyone who has an issue with that has to go through me."

The old man raised an admonitory eyebrow at Darien's growl and blunt speech, "A bit daring, young man. Do you really think it is wise to act so disrespectfully towards the Council?"

Darien snorted in derision, "I know where I stand. Where anyone else stands is up to them. I am fed up with people belittling my mate and I don't really care what the Council thinks about her being here. No one in this place can beat me."

The warrior who led us here winced as he put more space between himself and Darien. Darien now had the undivided attention of twelve unimpressed men who were apparently the top authority on this planet.