My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 96

Sera

I looked at the heavy oak door. I looked at the dark corners of the large room. The fire in the hearth was slowly dying down, casting long, erratic shadows across the stone walls.

The immediate, suffocating fear clawed its way straight up my throat.

If Mina left, I would be completely alone. If I was alone, I would have to close my eyes. And if I closed my eyes, the adrenaline would finally completely fade, and the reality of the murder would drag me under. I would see Kael standing in the shadows, his head tilted at that horrific, unnatural angle. I would hear him drowning in his own blood.

I couldn't sleep alone tonight. I would absolutely lose my mind.

"Stay," I said.

Mina stopped walking. Her hand hovered an inch away from the iron latch. She turned around, looking confused.

"Hmm?"

"Spend the night here," I told her, trying desperately to keep my voice casual.

Mina shifted her weight nervously. She pointed a finger at the mattress. "Sera, you always demand your privacy. The few times I have stayed in here, it was only occasionally, and it was usually because I fell asleep by the fire."

"I don't want privacy tonight," I said. "Just stay."

Mina shook her head. "I really can't. I realized that whenever I sleep in your room, I tend to oversleep. The mattress is too thick. The room is too warm. I forget my duties entirely, and the head cook yells at me."

"You are not a servant, Mina," I stated firmly. "You are my friend. You should stop acting like a scullery maid."

Mina crossed her arms defensively over her chest. "I actually have chores, Sera. Given your wedding coming up, the preparations in the lower levels are massive."

"There are actual helpers for that," I countered, standing up from the chair. I pointed at the bed. "Come to bed."

Mina shook her head again, holding her ground. "I would rather handle certain things myself to avoid errors. If I leave the curing to the new girls, they will use too much salt. I need to be there."

I wasn't having it. The silence in the room was growing entirely too loud. The phantom smell of the burning pyre hit my nose again.

I walked right up to her. I dropped the casual tone completely. I locked eyes with her and used the exact same stern, commanding voice I had used on my mother in the Great Hall.

"Mina. Come to bed. Now."

Mina stopped moving.

She didn't argue. She didn't cross her arms tighter. She just stood there for a long, heavy moment, staring directly into my face. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. She was breathing heavily. The sheer, unyielding authority in my voice completely stripped away the casual banter between us.

She looked past the harsh command. She saw the tension in my jaw. She saw the absolute, naked desperation hiding right behind my eyes.

Mina swallowed hard.

"Do you love me?" Mina asked suddenly.

The question hit me completely out of nowhere. It wasn't a joke. Her voice was incredibly soft and completely vulnerable.

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