When The Heart Sings

Chapter 44

Serena's POV:

I sat on Darien's lap and leaned against him. I had no desire to move. It was peaceful, quiet, and relaxing. No one was irritated by my mere presence. Darien had also relaxed, although he was still vigilant and alert. The Dranek had managed to locate him after all, which surprised me. I wondered how they had managed that.

I was so glad that he was back with me. The Dranek had scattered to give us as much privacy as they could on the edge of their camp. I knew that there were dozens of guards further out just in case. With Darien here, that was a pretty pointless precaution, although I wasn't sure if they were aware of his super strength. I couldn't see a single patch of blue skin, although I knew that at least a dozen were within hearing range if we called out.

It surprised me that Darien trusted them as much as he did. He normally didn't trust anyone, and this was a race he had never met before. Something in Saphira's mind must have convinced him when he was reading her.

Despite the war between the Tarulk and the Dranek, the Dranek had no problem with Darien and Darien had more tolerance for them than for most people. It baffled me. As much as I could figure it out, they welcomed Darien because he was my soulmate. Darien was more laid back because he knew that I was safe around the Dranek.

A low whistle to the side made me glance over. Saphira was walking over with a large tray. She had whistled to ensure we were aware of her presence. Darien glanced over, but wasn't surprised to see her. He would have heard her approach.

She set the tray down in front of us, "Here is some supper. The red bowls contain things that Serena would be wise to purify before trying."

Darien watched her, although his gaze wasn't overly sharp, "Would you care to remain? I have some questions I am hoping you have leave to answer."

If it wasn't for the bond and its side effects, I would have wondered if this was actually Darien. I had never heard him use such a polite or courteous tone with anyone other than myself. He was often sharp with Alex and almost hostile towards others.

Saphira nodded and took a seat on the grass. Darien had opted to sit on the soft grass earlier as he leaned against a tree trunk. I glanced at the tray and did a double take. Darien glanced down and also examined the food. About half of the dishes were things from Earth.

Rice, fish, corn on the cob, diced up veggies and more. Some was food I had seen the Tarulk eat, and most of that was in red bowls, although some wasn't.

I looked at Saphira in surprise, "Thank you. How did you get this?"

She smiled, "It is not easy for our kind to move around on Earth, but we know of certain humans who will keep our secret as they buy things we might need."

Darien passed me a plate and I took a bit of everything. I hummed before eating any of it though, and I noticed Saphira relax as I hummed. Darien turned his attention to Saphira, "I heard that the waygates aren't working reliably. I cannot see every Dranek camp having Earth food on hand."

She wasn't bothered by his slightly suspicious tone. "We rarely travel to Earth unless it is needed. A trip was made once we found Serena. There are a couple of gatemasters among our people. The problems with the waygates are our doing, although our waygates work just fine."

"Why did you tamper with the waygates and make it impossible for people to leave?"

Saphira sighed, "We were trying to locate a singer and from the way the Council reacted, if there had been a singer on this planet, they would have removed them just to spite us. Our actions are not something we are proud of, but we felt compelled to keep trying."