When The Heart Sings

Chapter 45

Serena's POV:

Darien once more had me on his lap and I looked around as we travelled. I wasn't sure how Saphira managed to pull it off, but a dozen carts were ready by dawn. Most held every supply that we might possibly need and a couple of the carts were for passengers.

Darien was alert as per usual, but I doubted that it was needed. I knew that at least several hundred Dranek were in the trees as they travelled alongside us. Saphira was seated on the other side of the cart. She seemed to have adopted a role where she was always the closest Dranek to me.

Five other armed and armored Dranek were usually fairly close. I was pretty sure it was the same five that had been keeping an eye on me yesterday. I was getting a bit better at telling them apart, but still didn't know their names. It looked like I had somehow adopted bodyguards... I had no idea what to think about that.

Unlike most of our trips so far, this one was very relaxing. Although if I thought about it, half of the travelling I had done in the last week had been against my will... I closed my eyes as I leaned back against Darien's chest and simply enjoyed the sun's warmth.

He lightly traced a finger up and down my arm. I could feel the line of heat that followed his touch, although the goosebumps that appeared afterwards made no sense at all in my mind. It was highly distracting, although I liked it. It was hard to think of anything besides his touch, especially with the skin on skin contact.

I began to wonder if this was why my touch was able to calm him down so easily. My eyes opened to see his eyes gazing languidly into mine. His expression was tender and his eyes glowed gently. The green-blue sky above him was an interesting contrast to his brown hair and only made his eyes stand out all the more.

I blinked slowly and pushed the image to the front of my mind. He blinked a mere second later; he must constantly be trying to pick up any images I may send. High pitched cries in the forest made both of us look over.

I didn't see anything besides trees. Darien was listening to things I couldn't hear. A glance at Saphira showed that she was alert, but unconcerned. Darien stopped watching the trees and looked down at me.

I tilted my head in inquiry and he glanced at Saphira, "I assume that was your people scaring something away?"

Saphira nodded, "Yes. Those warning cries tend to spook most things. It was a group of some large predator they chased off."

I watched the treeline, seeing frequent glimpses of blue skin. They were not trying to hide from us as they travelled alongside the carts. I simply couldn't figure out how they jumped from tree to tree so easily. There had to be more Dranek further back in the trees as well.

I glanced at Saphira, "Is it just me, or are there quite a few Dranek travelling with us?"

She nodded, "A good portion of the camp is accompanying us."

Darien's eyes flickered over to Saphira, "I somehow doubt you are worried about the Tarulk breaking through your defenses?"

Saphira grinned in a rather feral way, "At this point, they don't even try. They have no way of knowing that most of the fighters are absent. Even if that entire war camp tried to attack, they would fail."

The Dranek had been only kind and caring towards me so far, but this was a glimpse of a different side that I would rather not meet. She was certain that the remaining fighters could hold any attack at bay, and Darien didn't seem doubtful of her claim. I was quite glad that they were as friendly towards me as they were.

A shadow passed over me and I looked up. Darien tensed as a massive eagle banked overhead. Saphira reassured us, "It is one of our messengers."

I watched in surprise as the huge eagle glided low above the ground some distance ahead. I was even more surprised to see that there was a Dranek on its back. Something fell to the ground and another Dranek went to retrieve it as the massive eagle started gaining altitude and flew out of sight.

Darien slowly relaxed as we watched the Dranek jog towards us. He passed Saphira some sort of pouch. She opened it and pulled a few scrolls out before passing a folded letter to Darien. "They delivered your letter to your friend. He sent a response."

Darien had asked if they could deliver a letter to Alex and they must have managed it. They even had a response, which amazed me. Their ability to sneak into the Tarulk camp unnoticed would probably alarm any Tarulk were they to learn of it.

Darien skimmed the letter, "Alex is glad we are safe." He read further and snorted while shaking his head, "Apparently, the army is quite disappointed that I didn't go berserk and wipe out the Dranek for them. They are now quite worried that the reason I have not done so is because the Dranek are holding you hostage. The army is terrified that I might be forced to fight against them."

Saphira made a disgusted face, "Who would hold a singer hostage?"

Darien growled lowly, "The more appropriate question would be who hasn't tried to kidnap or kill her?"

Saphira's ears flattened against her head, "What?!" Her high-pitched voice was flat and deadly. I blinked as her hair started to fluff up and stand on end, including the ridge of hair that ran down the length of her back. Her skin also darkened to a deeper blue shade at the same time.

Darien eyed her up for a moment as he read her intentions. His voice was still a growl, "Too many have tried to take her from me. A few underhanded ones even succeeded. There are a few I plan to kill the next time I see them."

This knowledge caused Saphira to hiss in anger, showing teeth as her lip curled up in threat. All of her hair was standing on end now, from her head all the way down to the tip of her tail. The tuft at the end had flared out into a wide flat diamond shape larger than my hand. Her skin was now a sky blue instead of an ice blue. She focused on Darien as she demanded, "Why would they do this?"

Others nearby were also agitated as they waited for a response. Darien narrowed his eyes, "They planned to use her to control me, in one fashion or another."

Saphira tilted her head in rapid thought, "They did not know she was a singer." It was a statement, not a question. "Why would they want to control you?"

Darien growled faintly in warning, "My strength and speed is such that no one has seen its equivalent. They want to make me fight their battles for them. I will kill any who try to take Serena away from me."

Saphira narrowed her golden eyes in thought. She was starting to calm down and, even as I watched, her hair slowly smoothed back down again. Her skin went back to that pale blue shade.

I blinked in surprise as I realized that her hair and skin were reflecting her mood. Her hair reminded me of a cockatoo that my friend watched for a bit. It rose up if she was angry and relaxed when she was calm. This was definitely an interesting twist.

Saphira gave Darien a measuring look, "We had heard rumors of a Tarulk with super strength that was supposed to wipe out our army." It looked like Saphira had not connected that rumor with Darien previously.

Darien's voice was flat, "I could. If your army had kidnapped or harmed her, I would."

"We would never harm a singer. Even so, you have not harmed a single Dranek yet."

Darien gave her a cold look, "I will repeat myself. I will kill any who try to harm Serena or take her from me."

Saphira relaxed a bit more and nodded thoughtfully, "And you don't care that our two races are theoretically at war with one another?"

Darien snorted, "War? This? You let anyone run away who attempted. This scuffle over land started years ago and we have only been on this planet for a few days. I have no part in this war and it did not – and still does not – concern me."

Saphira watched him in curiosity, "What is it then that does concern you? What do you seek?"

Darien didn't even pause to think as he replied, "Serena is my concern. I seek a place of peace where I do not have to fear for her safety if I simply take my eyes off of her or walk out of the room for a moment."

Saphira relaxed and replied in a confident voice, "That, we can arrange."