Sera's POV

You're not special.

I don't know why his words hit a very sensitive part of me. One that I thought I had buried under years of work and sheer will.

You're not special.

You're not special.

Anger washes over me. I hate hearing my name from him, my full name nonetheless. Who the fuck does he even think he is? Sprouting nonsense like it's poetry?!

“Sera,” I grit out. “Everyone calls me Sera. And so will you.”

“Penelope Verdant, your dearest friend. I have business with her, business that you are interfering in,” he goes on, as if I hadn’t just spoken.

Then he faces me. If it...