CHAPTER 247: SHARED MEAL

Serena could barely hold back her smile and then looked away from Darius briefly before she looked back at him. She exhaled slowly and then put her hands behind her back. She was not sure what to do with herself, the painting stared back at her.

It was the prettiest thing she had laid her eyes on and it was done in her name. It was all hers. Her hands itched to do something for Darius, something as grand as this painting. But what?

"Serena?" he called out softly.

"Yes, hello," she answered.

"I was wondering if you were still here with me," he chuckled.

Serena laughed and then walked closer to him wrapping her hands around, she sighed wistfully and stared up at him. "I am still here alright."

Darius hummed and then opened his arms to receive her and planted a soft kiss on her cheek.

Darius chuckled at Serena’s remark and brushed his thumb across her cheek where he had kissed her. "Then I suppose we must part, lest we be statues by dawn."

She laughed softly and stepped back, only to let him guide her by the hand toward the low table near the window. The meal had been set in advance, a modest but warm arrangement of roasted pheasant, herbed root vegetables, and honeyed bread still faintly warm beneath linen. A clay pitcher of elderflower cordial sat beside two simple goblets.

They took their seats, and Darius poured the drinks, ever the host. Serena murmured a thank you and sipped slowly.

"I did not wish to speak of politics tonight," he said as he placed the pitcher aside. "I feared you might think I summoned you here under false pretence."

"Then you have succeeded," she said lightly. "It is the most pleasant deception I have ever walked into."

Darius smiled as he reached for the bread. Serena, already chewing, pointed at his chin.

"You have a bit of sauce, just there."

He wiped blindly with a napkin, missing the mark entirely. "Did I get it?"

"Not quite." She leaned across and gently swiped her thumb against his jaw, laughter bright in her eyes. "Now you have."

He caught her hand in his after the gesture, brushing his lips across her knuckles with exaggerated reverence. "You are a merciful woman."

They continued to eat, talking of lighter things, the summer blooms in the upper courtyard, a particularly stubborn pigeon nesting in the tower eaves, even the cat that had taken to haunting the west wing despite Livia’s protests. Darius, careful and composed, steered far from the matters that usually crowded his every waking thought.

Serena leaned back eventually, stretching her arms above her head. "I never expected this afternoon to turn out like this."

"Did I surprise you, then?"

"You did," she admitted. "Pleasantly so."

As she reached for the cordial, she said, "Do you have a falconer? I heard the call of one nearby."

"We do," Darius replied, "though I have not seen an eyrie in months. The birds are mostly used by scouts."

Serena nodded thoughtfully, cradling her goblet. "They’re marvellous creatures. I always loved watching them fly."

He glanced at her. "Did you? I did not think-" He stopped himself.

Serena arched a brow. "You did not think what?"

"I simply thought..." He set down his utensils and cleared his throat. "You once told me you were not raised in any single place. A life of wandering, was it not?"

Her expression stayed still for a heartbeat too long.

"I was," she said evenly. "Though for a time, we did settle. My mother liked to keep birds, hawks especially. She had a certain fondness for them."

"And your father?"

Serena looked down at her plate. "He had no such fondness. He said he had hunted enough creatures for one lifetime and had no interest in seeing more of them tamed or wild."

Darius’s brow furrowed faintly. "That is a curious thing to say, for a man living on the fringes."

Serena’s gaze flickered up, then quickly away. "It was a poor joke," she said, her voice light but slightly strained. "He was a man who had seen too much, perhaps. He said many things like that."

Darius studied her for a moment longer, but let it pass. "He sounds... enigmatic."

"You would not be wrong."

She picked at the hem of her sleeve. "Come now, finish your meal before the bread cools."

Darius did not push further. He simply gave a small smile and took another bite, though something in him quietly marked the strangeness of her answer. But if Serena wished to leave parts of herself behind locked doors, he would not force them open.

They lingered over the last of the meal, not out of hunger but contentment. The candlelight flickered low now, casting long shadows across the walls as they finished the roasted pheasant and dipped the last of the bread into the sweet glaze left at the bottom of the dish.

Darius leaned back with a satisfied sigh and brushed his knuckles along his jaw. "That was better than I expected."

Serena smiled, wiping her fingers with a linen napkin. "I suppose I should be thanking your cook."

"You should be thanking me," he said, feigning offense. "I chose the menu."

"Oh, what taste," she teased. "Tell me, do you drink wine too?"

"Do I drink wine?" Darius arched a brow and folded his arms. "Serena, I am the best drinker in the whole of Ironshade."

She laughed, genuine and unguarded. "I shall need evidence of this."

"Perhaps another night. Tonight, I am on my best behaviour."

Serena smiled and said, "I never cared much for wine, at least not the fermented ones. It did help with pain, though."

Darius tilted his head. "Pain?"

She waved it off. "Old habit. Nothing serious."

He looked like he wanted to ask more, but stopped himself. Instead, he shifted slightly and said, "So. What would you like to do next?"

Serena stretched her arms behind her and let out a hum. "I have things to tend to in my room."

Darius placed a hand to his heart in mock betrayal. "How tragically dull. You will have the most boring evening in all of Ironshade."

She laughed again and tilted her head. "Then I suppose I could keep you company instead."

He smiled at that, rising to his feet. "Come. I shall escort you."

And so he did, walking her to her room, and staying a while longer.