When The Heart Sings

Chapter 60

Serena's POV:

It wasn't long before I was watching the waygate open. I was less nervous about passing through it, possibly because I knew what lay on the other side this time. Saphira walked up beside Darien, "The fighters who remained behind should still be guarding the waygate, but several Dranek will go first just to be sure."

Several heavily armed Dranek passed through the waygate and disappeared from sight. One swiftly returned, "The area is safe."

The rest of those waiting headed towards the gate. A glance back showed that the Dranek with the cataracts was being helped by her son. I leaned against Darien once more as we passed through the faintly glowing light that looked like water.

We moved away from the waygate to allow others to come through. It was almost strange to see the smaller trees of this world along with so much sky. Darien suggested, "We might as well have lunch. There should be a large clearing just on the other side of those trees."

Lunch sounded good to me and I walked beside Darien while holding his hand. Once we reached the clearing, we pulled out the food that we had packed early this morning. My sandwich was quite good, much better than the stale sandwiches I used to get from work.

Saphira was eating something that looked like a light blue apple, "Do you want to speak with the Dranek with the cataracts after lunch?"

She knew me well, well enough to know that helping someone would be at the front of my mind until the person had been helped. I smiled gratefully at her intuition, "Yes, please."

Saphira turned towards the trees and one of the usual Dranek guards left, probably to locate the woman. I finished my lunch and relaxed in the warm sunshine as I waited.

Saphira commented, "Your breathing is mostly back to normal. You no longer seem like you are out of breath."

Darien added his own commentary, "Her heartbeat has also slowed down, which is a relief for me." He held me a bit tighter at the end of his words.

If these two were so concerned about me being a bit tired and out of breath, then I would probably want to sneak away if I ever caught a cold or got the stomach flu. Although chances were that they would turn the place upside down looking for me. The mere thought of trying to avoid Darien made my heart hurt, so I was pretty sure that that plan was out.

It was kind of them, and their concern was touching, but I wasn't used to being the center of attention. A low whistle made me look over and I smiled at the three Dranek at the edge of the clearing. The guard took up his regular post, while the older woman was guided closer by her son.

Darien and Saphira had been in too much of a rush to get through the waygate for proper introductions. Saphira corrected that oversight, "Serena, this is Mindy and her youngest son, Reece. Mindy, Reece, this is the singer, Serena."

I wasn't able to judge the age of a Dranek very well, but her youngest son was probably older than I was. "Nice to meet you."

Mindy took a seat in the long meadow grass, "It is a pleasure. I had hoped to see a singer during my lifetime and now I have."

Her milky eyes could see well enough to keep her from walking right into a tree, but that was probably about it. "How about we see if I can't help you see better?"

She had looked hopeful before, but now the hope was easy to see, "Please, it would mean a lot to me."

"I have never tried something quite like this, please give me a moment."

Mindy faced my direction as she waited, "Take all of the time you need."

I suspected that she would be happy to wait for days if it was required, but that was not how my singing usually worked. Its potential abilities may have been somewhat limited, but it was usually not slow. A soft hum warmed up my vocal chords and allowed me to reach out my senses towards her.