When their Sisterhood was under attack?

Melisse had been injured?

“I should have known you’d be one of those. One of the weak ones who’d grow addicted to cock,” she spat.

“Enough,” Cassius growled, and Serena’s gaze sliced to him.

“You may lead her around by her twat, but not me,” she hurled at him.

He appeared like he was preparing to attack.

Which meant Serena braced to defend.

But Elena put her hand on his chest and he visibly relaxed.

Disgusting.

The both of them.

Utterly pathetic.

“We can only wait long enough for a raven to return sharing Melisse’s condition,” Elena said. “And any further news from Mother,” she went on with her ridiculousness. “A day, at most two. But you must understand why I have to go with Cassius to Airen and do it without any further delays.”

“I think I’ve made it damned clear I don’t understand,” Serena retorted.

“I will be their queen,” Elena repeated what she’d said earlier.

“You are Princess of the Nadirii,” Serena returned.

Elena tossed out both hands, the exasperation in her gesture also suffusing her features.

“Do you think this decision was easy?” she demanded.

“Yes, though you’ve made the wrong one.”

“Melisse would not agree,” Elena shot back.

Serena went in for the kill. “You’ve no idea what Melisse would think, and won’t, as you intend to abandon her.”

Her words struck true, she saw, for her sister’s pale face turned ashen and her body jolted with the invisible blow.

“This is getting us nowhere,” Cassius cut in. “It’s clear you understand naught but selfishness, and—” His words stopped when his eyes jumped over Serena’s shoulder and his lips spread thin.

Serena turned and she felt her stomach tip.

Shite.

Nero, Cassius’s man, was approaching.

She needed to exit this conversation and this location.

Immediately.

She turned back and caught only the fact that Cassius’s eyes had narrowed on her.

Thus, her alarm grew, and she needed to do something about it.

“As usual, we’ll never agree so there’s no point wasting further energy on it. Thus, I’ll bid you farewell and to enjoy your time in Sky Bay,” she said to her sister.

“They’re under siege, Serena,” Elena retorted. “Another reason why their prince regent and his future princess must not delay in returning.”

“Cass,” Nero came up to their sides and broke into the conversation, as men, Serena had no doubt, felt it was entirely their right to do, “I received word from Mac I go with you, not Aelia.”

Shite, shite, shite.

“What the fuck?” Nero finished on this terse demand.

“This is my decision,” Cassius confirmed, but his gaze was on Serena.

She shifted her features at the same time shifting to leave.

“She’s going to a fucking island across a fucking sea. When circumstances warrant, and I’d say these circumstances warrant, Otho and I are her personal guard. We’ve always been her personal guard,” Nero stated. “And we’ve lost our brother. Which means now I’m her personal guard. Therefore, I’d like to bloody well know why I’m clearly no longer my princess’s personal fucking guard.”