My Second Chance Mate is a Barbarian (Sera and Fenris) novel Chapter 490

Sera

"So where's Kael?" Vane asked.

"I don't know," Mina said. Her voice broke. "He wasn't there. There was nobody there."

Vane placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "Child," he said softly. "What did you see?"

"I... I saw her," Mina choked out. "Taya... she was... on the floor. All alone..."

Vane's hand tightened on her shoulder. "What else, child?" he asked gently.

"She... her face... it was..." Mina couldn't finish. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she hugged her knees to her chest. "So much blood. And she was cold. So cold!"

"What else?" Vane pressed softly. "What else did you see when you arrived?"

Mina stared blankly at the floor. "She was alone," she repeated. "There was nobody with... she was alone..." She started sobbing again.

Vane's eyes narrowed. "Child." He gripped her arm firmly. "The house staff. Where were they?"

A sharp intake of breath. Mina's head snapped up. She stared at him in shock.

"It was empty," she whispered. "The whole house... like... like everyone had left. Like the house had been abandoned."

The room went quiet. Only Mina's sobs echoed off the stone walls. Her small body rocked back and forth on the rug, her bloodied sleeve clutched to her face.

The fire popped and crackled in the hearth. Shadows flickered on the rough stone of the chamber walls. Outside, far off, came the sound of men at the gate.

Amara's fingers found my arm, gripping tight. I kept my face still, hands at my sides. Every word Mina said made it worse. And I couldn't say a thing.

Vane remained crouched beside Mina, staring at nothing, working it through. Time stretched out.

At last, with a heavy groan, Vane lifted his hand from Mina's shoulder and pushed himself to his feet. He stood over Mina's curled form, head bowed.

"A dead girl in her father's kitchen," he said slowly. "And the father nowhere." He paused, his weathered brow furrowing. "You know what they'll say. Every wolf in this keep."

But then he shook his head. "I've known Kael fifty years. He'd have cut off his own hand before he laid it on that girl."

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