Sera's POV
The truth was, I was afraid of the other leaders' judgment. No doubt the other territories know I'm here; I just hate the thought of them not trusting Gideon because of me. They knew who I was before this, where I came from, and I couldn't bear the thought of my shadow weakening his standing in their eyes.
In reality, after the pond, I actually felt... stronger.
In the quiet hours while Gideon was down managing border security, Vera and I had spent hours talking, sifting through the bloody chaos of that fight. We came to a blunt, shared conclusion: we had gotten extremely, impossibly lucky. Garrett had underestimated us, and Vera’s raw desperation had carried us through the bloodlust. But we weren't fighters. Not yet.
We can’t just rely on panic to save us next time, Vera wh
