My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 402

Bram

"I can't believe how much you look like yourself again," Taya said, reaching out to touch my cheek. I flinched at first, instinctively, my skin was still strange, still unfamiliar, but then I made myself relax into it.

"I didn't realize how different I'd gotten," I said. "I guess I've been looking at my own reflection for a long time."

"But they don't lie like real people do." She withdrew her hand, smiling faintly. "Even when I was a little girl, I could tell when you were hiding something, no matter how good a mask you put on."

I nearly stumbled in the conversation then, I wanted so desperately to tell her the truth of what I'd become. But she'd never asked me directly, and I knew I couldn't bear the weight of her disappointment if she found out I was an impostor. So I listened to her words and nodded, trying to find a way to shift the conversation to safer ground.

Something in what she'd said pulled at a memory that wasn't mine. I'd found it weeks ago, tucked in one of Kael's own journals between household accounts, the kind of thing a man writes down so he won't lose it and then forgets he ever wrote down at all. I gave it back to her now the way she needed it to sound, like it had just come to me.

"You always were more perceptive than I gave you credit for," I said. "I remember when you were ten or eleven, just a little thing. You came to me, so tiny and sure, to tell me that you knew I was upset over something. I said I wasn't, of course, but then you listed everything you'd seen me do that day out of habit or routine, the way I'd scowled at a servant, the way I'd tapped my foot impatiently, the way I'd avoided eye contact with everyone in the hall. You were right, I was upset, and I had no idea how much you'd seen. I couldn't even guess at how you'd known to look for it."

Taya's eyes went distant then, looking down at her plate. "I had to be that way," she said finally. "You and mother were always so busy, and then mother... I knew I couldn't rely on either of you. I had to figure things out myself."

"Don't blame yourself for that," I said. "It's a good skill to have, to be perceptive." I paused, thinking, and then said, "It's how you noticed the way the Luna's been acting lately, I guess."

Taya's eyes snapped back to mine, sharp and attentive. "What about the way the Luna's been acting?" she demanded.

I hesitated. It wasn't my place to tell her the truth about the Luna's plan, even if I knew what it was. "Oh, just... she's been acting strangely, is all. Distracted. I'm not sure what's really going on with her, but I know it can't be good for you to challenge her right now. You're young and strong, you have your whole life ahead of you. I don't want her to rob you of that."

Taya looked at me for a long time, her eyes searching. I tried to keep my expression calm and open, hoping I was hiding my unease well enough. But then, to my surprise, she nodded. "I know," she said quietly. "I was foolish to think I could take her on."

"I didn't say that," I said quickly. "If anyone can, it's you."

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I'm not going to fight her."

Relief washed through me, but there was a flicker of unease beneath it. I felt like I was missing something, like there was a piece of this puzzle I couldn't quite see. Taya had been so determined, so sure of herself, and now...

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