Chapter 53 Zion
ZION
Dangling my legs off the edge of Gedeon’s desk in his study, I fiddled with the handle of my knife, the blade sparkling in the dimness.
The room had been split into two zones: the gray suede couch and the small table in front of it claimed by the night’s darkness and the ebony desk with two seats before it won by the glow cast by the table light.
A truce, of sorts.
“Get off my desk,” Gedeon barked as he entered and closed the door. He stopped five feet away and glared at my knife embedded in the wooden surface. “Fucking get it off.”
I leaped off the desk. “Are you asking me to get you off?”
He hadn’t said anything in the three days that had gone by since I’d gotten him off in the shooting range, but I clearly had burrowed under his skin.
Hilarious, honestly.
“I don’t ask. I give permission.” Giving me a knowing look, he sat behind the black desk.
Mhm, that commanding tone of his.
He ran a hand through his dark strands, so shiny in the faint illumination. “What’s our status?”
“The resource supply chains have been restored. Ezra and Eli are drafting up new ways to exploit the city as much as we can.” I plopped down in a chair across from Gedeon and scratched my chin.
“We should get through this winter without rationing our food, but we’re exploring options to stack up on the nutritional bars Ilasall manufactures.
Can’t say how it’ll go right now. Ezra should give me an update in a few days.
The newcomers from the auction have calmed down, except two still trying to escape.
My guess is they should begin to adjust to their new lives in a week or so.
The rest have started taking classes at schools and are taken on tours around the compound.
As usual, a couple had freaked out at people having sex out in the open.
” I spread my legs and hooked an elbow over the chair’s backrest. “Maybe we should give them a show. To help them get accustomed.”
Disapproval threatened to break Gedeon’s jaw in half. “Seeing their leader degrade his second-in-command is the absolute worst of what they need.”
“You plan to humiliate me?” I shifted in my seat, my hatred for whoever invented zippers in jeans flaring up.
His short chuckle turned low, icy-cold, debasing. “I plan to make you suffer.”
Thank all the depraved gods I was sitting. I rubbed my forehead with the heel of my palm to stifle the need dripping down my spine and heading straight to my groin.
Gedeon pulled a sheet of paper from the pile and noted something, unconcerned and collected, as if his statement hadn’t turned me into an addict.
Pain, similar to torture, was understood by many as primarily physical.
But the psychological side of it alone could mess you up enough to ensure you did anything they asked for.
And it just had.
“Any news from Sadira and Ryder?” Gedeon pushed the scribbled piece of paper back into the stack. Probably in the exact same spot it’d come from, given how he relished control.
I cleared my throat. “No. As expected. They’re working on getting into Ilasall’s systems and going through the information on auctions, seeing what they can get out of it.
The city hasn’t noticed we’ve infiltrated them, but no other updates so far.
” I rose and placed my palms on the desk, leaning in. “Now, about you not asking.”
Thud.
The sound of a door handle hitting the wall reverberated in the study. My reflexes carried me halfway across the room before I halted.
Kali stood in the doorway with her arm outstretched to stop the door bouncing off the wall, Eli and Eislyn hovering in the hallway.
She had another scheduled checkup today at the infirmary and Eislyn must’ve trailed her with Eli on guard duty.
We didn’t trust anyone but the closest. A rat could hide in any corner of our ranks.
Storming over to me, Kali demanded, “Teach me how to fight.”
I cast a glance at Gedeon. This was a new development.
Three days had passed since the messenger’s failed attempt.
She’d gotten out of bed only to use the bathroom, and we had to resort to bringing her food as she refused to leave her bedroom.
But this morning, finally, she’d kicked us out and slammed the door in our faces.
And now this.
She shoved a finger at my chest. “Don’t look at him. Gedeon doesn’t dictate what I do.”
I smothered the need to pull her close and smell whatever shampoo she’d used to wash her hair. So far, cherry had been my favorite. “You want to train?” I asked, my eyebrows rising in disbelief.
She folded her arms over her chest. “Yes. Close combat, knives, guns, whatever. I want to learn how to fight. Actually fight.”
“Come here.” Gedeon curled his forefinger at her. “Let me look at you.”
“You can order me around tomorrow morning, in the training rings outside,” she scoffed.
He steepled his fingers, elbows on the dark wood desk. “Arguing with me is pointless. You know the consequences of not listening.”
Lifting her chin higher, she stood in the middle of his study, her front illuminated by the table light and her back framed by the night’s darkness. The titles of books filling the dark wood shelves lining the wall were indiscernible in the dimness.
“I’m not here to please,” she sneered, then strode out of the room, pausing at the doorway where Eli and Eislyn were unsuccessfully pretending they weren’t eavesdropping.
“And don’t be late.” She pointedly zeroed in on my crotch and then to Gedeon’s.
“Or I will slice off your balls and then stuff them up your nostrils.”
A loud snort escaped Eislyn, and she rushed to cover her mouth, facing the hallway’s wall, her shoulders shaking.
As they vanished into the dimly lit hallway, I asked Gedeon, “What are you planning to do?”
His lips curved up. “Teach her how to kill.”
“Again.”
Displaying her exasperation openly, Kali lowered into a deep lunge, the muscles in her legs trembling from holding it for minutes on end. But she kept her back straight and her arms extended to the sides as she focused on Malaya and Jayla sitting on a wobbly bench and munching on golden croissants.
Kali wavered and fell forward over her bent knee, catching herself on her hands, her palms already full of red indentations from having hit the gravel countless times.
“Switch.” I slipped off my leather jacket and stretched my neck. The sun was climbing higher, and though the temperature had dropped, it never got too cold here.
Grumbling, she placed her left leg in front and lowered into another lunge.
“It will help you later, trust me,” Eislyn supplied from beside Kali, in the identical position. She’d held remarkably steady through the warm-up and all the balance exercises I’d been running them through. “Believe me, Eli has been putting me through much worse than this.”
“You asked for it.” Eli shrugged as he lingered on the side of our training ring, waiting for his students to finish gathering for his scheduled class on close combat with knives.
“You said it yourself that you want to learn more than throwing knives. That requires this. Now go lower and raise your arms.”
Kali lost her balance and collapsed. “What even is this? It’s been an hour, and you haven’t taught me a thing.”
I snorted. “It’s been twenty minutes. If you want to learn how to fight, you need to know how to keep your balance.
You may know where to strike with your fist or a knife, but if your opponent throws you off balance, you’re likely more dead than not.
Now roll onto your stomach, position yourself on the balls on your feet, like in the lunge, but stay on your forearms, shoulder length apart, and lift yourself up. ”
Cursing, she followed through. I fixed her position so that her body was tensed into a straight line.
“Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck,” she repeatedly hissed, like a chant.
“Don’t forget to breathe.” Eislyn fluidly joined her in the new exercise. “You shouldn’t overwork yourself. It’ll take time for your concussion to fully heal.”
“I. Don’t. Give. A. Fuck,” Kali bit out through clenched teeth. “I’m doing this until I pass out.”
“You will not. I will not watch you hurt yourself from overexertion.” A low voice rolled over my shoulders. As usual, dressed all in black, Gedeon absorbed the sunshine bouncing on people working out in the training rings around us.
“Give me another order and I will shove it up your throat,” she spat out, beet red from the exercises and improper breathing technique. We had to work on that too. “I dare you.”
“I will not repeat myself.” He prowled closer and gripped my chin, his dark eyes boring into mine. “You have five days to ensure she understands the principles of training.”
My pelvis twitched. “Or?”
“Or my belt will tan your ass as it has done hers,” Gedeon promised, focused on my lips as I licked them, and then marched off to the crowd.
It parted to let him through, and I would’ve given anything for it to have been the zipper in my jeans parting wide open, because his authoritative tone had shot straight to my crotch.
Jayla choked on her croissant, falling into a coughing fit, and Malaya had to hit her back a few times for it to pass. She wiped her tears and murmured a thank you.
“That’s what you get for getting into this. I’m off to my class.” Shaking his head, Eli strolled toward the other side of the square.
“Sometimes, I want to throttle Gedeon.” Kali splayed out on the ground, her arms wide and her cheek resting on the filthy and dusty gravel. “Everything burns,” she grumbled, spitting tendrils of her hair out of her mouth.
“I’ll teach you how to strangle someone later. It’s harder than you think. For now, we need to work on proper breathing.” I wiped a sweat bead from her forehead with my thumb and tucked a sweaty strand behind her ear, marveling at how she closed her eyes and a faint smile surfaced.
So beautiful.