CHAPTER 240: CHIT CHAT

Was he so distracted within himself that he could not sense that that woman lingered? He looked up to see her staring back at him, like a cat watching a canary.

"Lady Amara...is there any problem?" Darius asked tentatively.

"Oh none at all. I just haven’t had the opportunity to have a chit chat with the famed Alpha of Ironshade," she said sweetly.

Darius let out a laugh and arranged the papers in front of him and gave her his attention. He had no solid opinion on the woman just yet, only that she seemed to be apart from the party sent here.

"I hardly think I am famed."

"I do suppose you would not be aware of that," she said with a chuckle. "It is really hard to get a hold of you."

"I tend to get swamped with my work but Ryker would be able to-"

She clicked her tongue and waved her hand in front of her. "Oh no, it is you I want to speak to."

Darius’ mouth formed an ’o’ and he nodded. What in the world would she want to talk to him about?

"Yes, I can spare some time."

Amara’s smile deepened, though her eyes held an inscrutable gleam. She glided to the empty chair across from him, moving with a grace too measured to be purely polite. As she sat, her hands folded neatly in her lap, posture elegant but relaxed, like a woman entirely in control of her presence.

"Splendid," she said. "It’s such a rare delight to speak freely. Councils have their uses, but the words shared there tend to be so... heavy."

Darius gave a small nod and rested his forearms on the table, watching her carefully. "Weighty words make strong bonds."

"And yet, sometimes the light ones reveal more." She tilted her head. "Do you like gardens, Alpha Darius?"

The question caught him off guard. "Gardens?"

"Yes. Florals. Arrangements. Landscape design. I passed one earlier on my way to the west wing, it looked to be half-wild, full of ironroot and foxglove." She gave a little shudder. "Beautiful in its own way, but rather... untamed."

"Those gardens are not meant to impress," Darius said simply. "They serve their purpose. The healers use the wild ones. The cultivated plots are behind the apothecary."

"Mmm," she mused, tapping a finger against her chin. "So you keep some order, just not where people can see it."

He quirked a brow. "We are not in the habit of putting on shows."

"No, you are not," she agreed, her gaze sharpening. "That is why I asked to stay behind."

Darius stiffened, only slightly. "If you have something to say plainly, Lady Amara, I prefer not to dance around it."

"Oh, no dancing then?" she asked with mock disappointment. "Very well. I shall be plain."

There was a beat of silence between them. A breeze stirred the papers on the table.

"I’ve read all the ledgers and the Tribunal reports I could get my hands on," she said lightly. "You know, most other packs, especially the Cardinals, file monthly updates. Correspondences and the likes. Ironshade... hasn’t done so in eighteen years."

Darius said nothing.

She leaned forward, still smiling. "Your father stopped responding to summons before I was even I was someone of not. Curious, isn’t it? A Cardinal severing ties with the Tribunal."

"He had his reasons," Darius said quietly.

"I’m sure he did," she replied. "But what reasons would justify such silence? The West remained unchanged while the South was in flames. One would think Ironshade would be the first to offer stability. Instead, you went quiet. And now... you stir again. Almost as if your place among the Cardinals is no longer secure."

Darius gave no outward reaction, but his fingers tightened subtly atop the table.

"Is that what this is?" she continued, voice still light, as if she were speaking of weather. "This alliance between Ironshade and Dawnbreak? A bid to prove relevance?"

He met her gaze steadily. "We do not move to prove anything at all. We move because we choose to."

"And choices," she said, "have consequences."

For a long moment, the two held each other’s gaze in the quiet, until Amara leaned back in her chair, her expression softening suddenly.

"But truly," she said, tone bright again, "I’m glad to see it. Two Cardinal packs strengthening ties, it is long overdue. I am honoured to be part of this renewal."

Darius raised a brow. "You do not count Crimsonclaw among the strengthening?"

She smiled, and this time it did not reach her eyes. "Oh, Crimsonclaw has its own path. We do our duty, of course. As always."

There was something evasive in the way she said it, a flicker behind her words that hinted at a disinterest she was careful not to voice.

Darius studied her a beat longer. "You and Lady Serena do not see eye to eye?"

"I see what I am meant to see," she replied pleasantly. "And that is all I will say on the matter."

He didn’t press further, but something inside him shifted uneasily. Serena had never spoken ill of Amara, but something odd stirred at the edges of this woman’s civility.

"Perhaps one day I shall come back here on leisure," Amara went on, standing now and brushing nonexistent dust from her sleeve. "Without all the council matters, without the heavy parchments and long corridors. I imagine your land would look even more striking in spring."

"Ironshade does not change much with the seasons," he replied.

"Neither do its wolves, I imagine," she said with a knowing smile.

She moved toward the door, her voice light once more. "I will not take up any more of your time, Alpha Darius. Thank you for indulging me."

"Lady Amara."

She paused and looked over her shoulder.

"You’re clever with your questions."

She gave a small curtsy. "And you’re careful with your answers."

With that, she slipped out into the hall, her steps soft but purposeful, leaving behind the faint scent of lavender and the memory of a conversation that had said much, and nothing at all.