Chapter Thirty-Nine
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AMAROS KNEW HE WAS being a coward, yet he continued to avoid Zoe. He could hear her at the far end of the resort. She was trashing the infirmary from the sounds of it. The cambion kept muttering to herself. He was pretty sure he heard his name mentioned a few times.
He used a screwdriver to remove a bunch of doors and placed them in the truck. The light rain had stopped, but he still used the tarp to cover them. Returning inside, Amaros studied the door frames. “We should be able to replicate that,” he mused quietly.
Removing the windows would have to wait for now.
He would need help with that job. With luck, Camriel’s new carpentry skills would come in useful to repair their home.
It would be a lot easier if his entire team was here.
Using magic was far better than using their hands and muscles for labor like this.
Amaros could sense Zoe’s frustration by now. Worse, he could feel her hurt. She thought he was deliberately tormenting her by not revealing his secrets. His own cowardice he could live with, but her pain was unacceptable.
“Grow a pair and tell her the truth,” he growled at himself.
The butterflies in his gut grew to the size of bats as Amaros made his way to the restaurant.
Zoe stood with her back to him, gazing out through the window at the breathtaking view.
Her tight jeans hugged her long, toned legs.
He wanted to strip them off and use his hands and mouth to make her scream in pleasure.
“Are you ready to talk to me now?” she asked without turning around.
Snapping out of his fantasy, Amaros took a deep breath to try to calm his nerves, then crossed the room to stand beside her. She didn’t look at him and merely stood there with her arms crossed. It made it easier to begin without having her eyes on him.
“Fate told me something new when I was in the Void,” he said. Zoe picked up on his serious tone and shifted slightly. He took that to mean he’d piqued her curiosity. “She said that this is the last time the Knights of Order will be deployed in the war between Chaos and Order.”
Her head turned and she met his gaze. She looked shocked by that revelation. “What does that mean?” she queried. “Will you return to the Void forever?”
Amaros shook his head. “Not this time. New warriors will be created on both sides. This is our last war and our last journey to this world.”
Zoe turned to face him, he noticed her fists were clenched tightly. “Order’s discarding its knights?” she asked in disbelief. “What’s going to happen to you all if you aren’t sent back to the Void?”
“We’ll vanish, like everyone who was raptured, I guess,” he replied.
“After all the wars you guys have fought, how can Order just throw you away like trash?” she asked, bitter on their behalf.
Amaros rubbed the back of his neck and looked out at the view. “Fate felt the same way,” he said. “Which is why she intervened.”
“What did she do?” Zoe asked.
“She offered to sacrifice some of her own power if Order will allow us to remain on this world.”
He glanced at Zoe to see her brow was furrowed. “Why do I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me?” she asked. Her tone was beginning to sound ominous.
“We need to form a bond with someone in order for us to remain here,” he said, heart beginning to thud faster.
“Exactly who are you supposed to bond with?” she asked. “What sort of bond are you talking about?”
Taking hold of his courage, Amaros turned to face her again. “In the past, cambions were tied to their sires through a parental bond,” he told her. “Their sires could control them. Every single one that we hunted down and eradicated was evil. You and Grace aren’t like them.”
Her expression became suspicious. “Fate did something to us?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “Chaos broke the rules when it released its warriors early. Fate was able to sever their ties to their offspring. Your sires can’t force you to obey them this time. They also can’t have more children.”
“You told Grace and me that our sires would be able to convince us to join their side,” she recalled. “You said they could use us in their war against you.”
He nodded, waiting for her to come to the correct conclusion.
“Fate wants the Knights of Order to become bonded to the cambions,” Zoe realized. “She expects you to form a partnership with the offspring of your sworn enemies.”
“That’s correct,” he agreed, glad she was taking it so well so far.
“What sort of bond would we have with your men?” she asked, striving for a casual tone, yet sounding slightly hoarse. Zoe was suppressing her emotions so hard he was having trouble sensing them.
“It would be an intimate bond,” he hedged, rubbing the back of his neck again. “Like a marriage,” he added.
Zoe sucked in a breath of understanding. “So, we’ll be expected to sleep with you guys?”
“This is new to us, too,” he reminded her. “We won’t have any expectations, because none of us have ever been in an actual relationship before.”
“How will you choose which cambions you’re going to bond with?” she asked, now avoiding his gaze.
“There’s only one cambion for each knight,” Amaros said. She was refusing to look at him, so he reached out to touch her arm. “Fate placed me in your path for a reason, Zoe Zayden,” he said solemnly. “I felt the bond with you the moment I woke up from the landing.”
She swallowed, still avoiding his eyes. “You’ve been fighting it this whole time,” she said. “You don’t want to become bonded to me. You’d rather be raptured if you win or lose the war than to become tied to me for the rest of your life.”
Her tone was full of bitterness and pain.
Amaros knew he’d bungled this from the beginning.
“That’s not true, Zoe,” he refuted, turning her to face him.
Her anguished eyes reluctantly met his. “I’m the commander of the Knights of Order.
My men follow my lead in all things. I wanted them to make this decision for themselves, but Camriel is the only warrior I have with me so far.
He’s already made his decision to stay here and bond with his cambion.
I don’t want to hide this from you any longer. You have the right to know the truth.”
“You’ll only become bonded to me if the rest of your team decides they want to stay here?” she asked, sounding even more bitter and hurt.
“No,” he denied. “I made my decision the moment I laid eyes on you. I just had to convince my stubborn mind to put myself first for the first time in my entire existence.”
“What is your decision?” she asked. He saw the pulse in her throat beating just as hard and fast as his own heart.
“I choose you,” he said. “Now, you need to decide whether to accept our bond, or if you’re going to reject me.”
Zoe was about to reply, then stiffened. Her gaze went distant as she received another vision.