My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 44

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Sera

My mother’s hands were too soft. They felt strange against my skin, like something that didn't belong in the North. She dabbed a wet linen cloth against my cheek, her fingers trembling so badly she kept missing the dirt.

The guest room was stifling. She had ordered the Valdris servants to build the fire incredibly high, and the air tasted like dry ash. Two of her maids were unpacking heavy wooden trunks in the corner, their movements stiff and terrified.

"I cannot believe you are living in a stone room," my mother said. The heavy silk of her blue dress rustled as she shifted her weight. "It is freezing here. The servants do not even know how to properly heat washing water. They smell like wet dogs."

"The water is fine," I said.

"We can fix this," she said, lowering the cloth. It dropped onto the stone floor with a wet slap. "Lord Torin brought gold. A lot of it. We can offer the chief a bribe. We can offer him a southern estate near the coast. Land buys peace, Sera."

I pulled my face away from her. I looked at her impractical dress and the frantic, wide-eyed panic in her expression. "I am not bribing anyone."

"You cannot fight a northern barbarian," she pleaded. Her voice went high and thin, echoing off the bare walls. "You are a princess. You are not a soldier. They will kill you."

"I am an Ironmaw mate," I said. The words tasted strange in my mouth, but they were true. "If I bribe her, I prove I am weak. They will never respect me."