Chapter 62
62
Zyxel
Z yxel’s tail coiled and uncoiled as he paced the length of the tent, the weight of his confession bearing down on him. His hands trembled at his sides, but he clenched them into fists, forcing himself to steady. The cool night air filtering through the tent’s edges did little to soothe the fire racing beneath his skin.
He was terrified—of rejection, of misunderstanding, of everything that could crumble if she didn’t believe him… If she rejected him.
Or worse… if knowledge about what he was got out, he would be hunted once more, like his people were… like humans were.
He had to tell her. He had to show her. There was no turning back.
“Selena,” he began, his voice tight, rasping against the lump in his throat. “Do you trust me?”
She tilted her head slightly, confusion filled her face. “I do,” she said softly, her tone measured. “Why else would I have spent the day alone with you?” She paused. “But what does that have to do with this?”
His tail went still, tension rippling through his body as his hands clenched into fists. He let out a slow exhale, nodding faintly—not to her, but as if convincing himself. “Because this… this is about you. About us. About what we both are.”
Her brows furrowed. “What I am?”
“They gave me access to your files on this trip,” Zyxel said, his words tumbling out now, unstoppable. “Zirene. Kaede. Since Mwe himself had vetted me, and I’ve proven myself to your clan that I wasn’t a threat, they couldn’t refuse without reason. I told them that I could offer insight, that I could know something your healing team might have overlooked—knowledge about species beyond the galaxies' borders.”
Her lips parted, but no words came. Her silence pressed into him like a weight.
“Just like how you knew Kaede was part Ezzaska,” she murmured, her voice so quiet it barely reached him. “But… how do you know what I am?”
His throat tightened. This was it—the moment he could never get back. “Because I am one.”
He reached out, his hands trembling as they gently enclosed hers. “Selena, I’m the same. I’m like you.”
Her fingers twitched beneath his, and she shook her head. “I don’t believe you,” she whispered in a soft denial.
His heart twisted at the words, but he didn’t let go. “Then let me show you.”
Her breath hitched. “Show me?”
His hand rose to her cheek, his palm trembling as it met her warm skin. “Please,” he murmured, his voice low and raw. “Trust me.”
She nodded once, hesitant but willing.
Her eyes searched his face as he closed his own, drawing in a steadying breath. He focused on the sensation—on the instinctual ability that had been there all along, a phantom feeling that pulsed faintly within him.
The world narrowed as he focused on the spark, the faint flicker of a flame burning deep within him. Slowly, he called to it, coaxing it forth.
A gentle hum vibrated from within his chest, resonating in his core and spilling down his spine, covering his whole body.
Images flickered in his mind—memories, impressions, fragments of him.
A gasp escaped his lips as he let go… and a deep otherworldly, yet familiar, warmth surged forward—the flame inside him became a roaring inferno, consuming all of him.