Chapter 4
Zion Voluz, in the middle of my kitchen. Not that it was actually mine… or just mine. The kitchen was more his, and now I was mentally babbling to myself, trying to ignore the fact that the man standing in front of me was my husband and had decided to show up after ignoring me for so long.
I tried to say something, but my voice had completely disconnected from my body.
I realized my brain was panicking because he was back, and I'd spent five years thinking about what I'd say when I saw him.
A whirlwind of phrases swirled through my mind: thank you for saving my life, welcome back or even a hello, Zion, you're a beautiful son of a bitch for running away for so long. But what came out was:
“You…” I couldn't get anything else out. The weight of all those sleepless nights spent rehearsing what I'd say when we met again was lodged in my throat.
“I…?” he asked, a note of amusement in his voice.
Despite trying to keep a serious expression, his eyes clearly struggled to stay still, wandering over my face and meeting mine at various moments—mine doing the same.
Soon, the hard look he'd given me at first softened, and the intoxicating scent of his skin reached me: warm and woody, like sandalwood on a summer night or the heat of a fire under a starlit sky.
I knew I should come across as intelligent, mature, or captivating in front of him, but all I could do was open and close my mouth like a fish out of water trying to breathe.
I'd hate myself later when I replayed this encounter from every angle.
But right now, I couldn't string together enough coherent thoughts to worry about how I was behaving in front of the man who'd left me behind.
So I blinked several times and broke free from the trance, looking down at the floor to ground myself.
“What are you doing here? Why didn't you knock?”
With my heart in my throat, I tilted my head to check the entrance.
It was still tightly closed. Zion took the knife from my hand and set it in the sink, then slowly stepped back and leaned against the doorframe.
Despite everything, his expression was so unreadable I couldn't tell if he was focused or amused.
At that moment, the enormous white chimera jumped on me—her typical greeting—making me stagger back a little.
When she rose on her two hind legs, she was my height.
I used the moment to catch my breath while hugging the furry creature's neck and stroking her thick fur.
Kiara watched me with bright blue eyes and plopped her chubby butt on my feet, then looked between us with an amused air.
I turned to Zion and, this time, took him in completely. His crossed arms showed off the muscles outlined by his black and green army uniform. The bag strap crossed his broad chest, and black gloves covered his hands.
“It didn't occur to me to knock on the door of my own house.” The general slipped the bag off his back and set it on the kitchen chair.
Just as I'd been doing shamelessly seconds before, his gaze traveled over my body, making my cheeks burn and my stomach clench. I wasn't prepared to be looked at like that, not in short, see-through pajamas.
“That's a fair point, but…” I pushed aside my self-consciousness about my lack of clothing and laced my fingers together so they wouldn't tremble.
I cleared my mind, reminding myself that I shouldn't be on the defensive—he was the one who'd disappeared for five years and, by some miracle, only remembered he had a house today.
“Couldn't you have let me know you were coming home? I… waited for you when I found out you were back at the walls.”
Actually, I'd waited for much more than that, but I decided not to mention it.
“I didn't ask you to wait for me,” he replied, arching an eyebrow.
Nervous about where the conversation was heading, I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at him seriously.
“But you also didn't tell me not to wait.
Actually, you didn't say anything.” I felt vulnerable exposing my hurt, but at the same time, it felt good to finally say what I'd been wanting to.
“I waited out of courtesy, but I guess you don't understand that, since I found out about your return from other people.”
The general's eyes gleamed, showing more than just defiance.
There was something else in that look, an indefinable brightness hidden beneath layers of curiosity.
Finally, a half-smile appeared on his lips.
I wondered why he was smiling, since I was being aggressive.
Zion removed his black gloves and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the table, then returned to his spot and leaned against the doorframe once more.
He seemed to be sizing me up, but he didn't say another word.
So I turned around and continued making the omelet in silence, trying to control the irritation bubbling under my skin.
“I heard you went to medical school and are now in your final year as a resident at the hospital.” I glanced sideways at him and saw he was still watching me, the apple half-eaten. “Are you enjoying it?”
I frowned, confused.
“Enjoying it?” The question caught me off guard. I didn’t expect him to be so direct. After all, what kind of person treats you like crap and then acts normal, asking personal questions? “Yes. I’m enjoying the program. I’m good at helping others, and my gift has been showing promise.”
The chimera leaned against the kitchen counter and stared at the tray of eggs. I stroked her head and fed her a raw egg, which disappeared in seconds.
“And how’s the military academy going?” And there it was—the question that would bring me trouble.
“You should know how the military academy is going—you’re the general,” I replied before shifting my gaze to the eggs.
“And as general, I want to hear it from you. I only know about your situation through third parties.”
There was a faint trace of humor in his voice, something acidic that gave his words an ironic edge.
I looked up and stared at him, brow furrowed.
Should I be worried that he was interested in this?
All I could think about was screaming that Zion only knew things through third parties because he’d never cared enough to talk to me himself.
“I’m still trying to catch up to the other students. Tomorrow is the first day of the last semester.”
He stared at me, and something smug gleamed in his gaze.
“Trying… And what are you doing to improve?”
I flinched at his tone, harder and more rigid this time. Still, I couldn’t hold back my bitter tongue.
“I’m going to classes.”
“What else? Because in my time, that was never enough.” He finished the apple and handed the remains to the starving chimera rubbing against his hip.
“What for? I don’t want a military career. I want to be a head elmedic and dedicate myself to saving lives here at the hospital.”
“And in the military, what do you think we do? Dance ballet and bake cakes? Do I need to remind you how we met?” The shadows moved over Zion’s skin, and his irises grew darker. I could feel his anger through the power emanating from him, filling the kitchen, and it inflamed my own temper.
“I don’t know exactly what you do, Shadow Lord, but I’m pretty sure running away from your partner is the main part of the job.”
He glared at me.
“No one’s demanding you pursue a military career.” His voice was firm and controlled. “But I demand that you know how to defend yourself well, so you don’t have to depend on other people and can follow whatever path you want. That won’t happen if you can’t at least be better than your classmates.”
“You mean ‘so I don’t have to protect you.’ Is that it?” I asked, trying to control the anger in my voice. “Because the last time I checked, I was still alone and managing just fine that way.”
I saw a muscle jump in his jaw from how hard he clenched it.
This time he stared at me like a predator zeroing in on prey.
I turned back to dinner, feigning ignorance of his murderous expression.
I placed the omelet on a plate and pushed it across the counter toward him, then went back to making another one for myself.
My hunger had passed. I just wanted to get out of there and end the conversation.
“I can see how well you take care of yourself alone. I don’t need to remind you that you live in the safest place on the continent.
By the way, if I were an assassin, you’d have been dead ten minutes ago.
How can you call that a knife throw if it didn’t even stick into anything? It hit the wall handle-first and fell.”
I looked at the knife lying on the floor and had to admit he was right—even if I’d hit him, it wouldn’t have scratched him. But even though he was right, I stayed quiet, focused on finishing quickly. The less I said, the less trouble I’d get into.
“Are you going to ignore me?” he asked, scowling. When he got no response, he added, “Very mature of you, Kyller.”
“Ignore you like you ignored me for five years?” I shot back, losing my patience and turning to glare at him.
Kiara raised her ears from where she lay.
“You say these things as if you actually cared whether I’m alive or dead.
It’s been five years since I’ve heard from you, Zion.
Now you come back without warning, just appear like a ghost in the kitchen and start losing it because I still haven’t caught up with the other students. I swear I don’t understand you.”
“You don’t need to understand. The only thing you need to do is stop whining and do something about your own safety.”
I clenched my hands into fists.
“It must be hard having a Drutes partner when the only goal of your life is to kill every one of us.” I looked deep into his eyes. “If I were you, I’d be worried about my safety too. It’s understandable.”
“You don’t know anything about me, Kyller!” The words came out with so much hatred that part of my anger was smothered by survival instinct.
“I don’t know anything because you won’t let me.”
“If you haven’t noticed, that’s the point. And that’s how it should stay.”
He waited for me to say something, but I couldn’t form a single sentence.
What the general had just said was the answer to my questions.
Zion didn’t care, had never cared, and wouldn’t start now.
I thought I was prepared for the truth, but the way my stomach contracted into a painful knot told me I was far from it.
Finally, tired of just staring at me, he turned his back and disappeared into the shadows. Upstairs, I heard a door close.
I stared at the spot where Zion had been for a few seconds. The plate with the omelet sat abandoned on the table, and I was so shocked I couldn’t even think about food. Kiara rubbed against my thighs, nearly knocking me off balance, and I sighed in exasperation.
That was our first conversation, and everything went wrong. What was I supposed to expect for the next day?
I grabbed my omelet along with his and stomped up the stairs. I was trying to understand the dynamics of our relationship and assess what I’d learned in ten minutes of trading barbs.
Discovery number one: Zion was irritatingly arrogant.
Discovery number two: I didn’t like him.