Chapter 23
Someone licked me.
I grumbled and rolled to the other side of the bed. Then someone licked me again, and this time the tongue got my whole face. I opened my eyes, indignant, and found myself staring into Kiara's blue eyes. She was wagging her tail frantically.
“Good morning to you too,” I murmured sleepily.
Kiara watched me for a few more seconds, then trotted out of the room, satisfied that she'd accomplished her mission: waking me up.
The next thing I noticed was the smell of food wafting through the house, and my stomach growled as if I hadn't eaten in two years. When I stood up, though, the world spun. I was probably weak from blood loss, but at least I couldn't smell it anymore—a sign that my period had finally ended.
I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and put on leggings and a loose shirt that I rolled up to my elbows.
When I reached the hallway, I heard a soft melody being whistled quietly.
I tiptoed to the stairs and spotted Zion lying on the couch with Kiara sprawled on top of him.
The humming was coming from him, and the tune—one I'd never heard before—was sweet and cheerful, filling the room with a sense of peace.
For a few seconds, I just stood there watching.
Golden rays of sunlight streamed through the living room's glass wall, illuminating the two of them.
The chimera practically covered Zion's entire body, lying on him with her eyes closed, wagging her scaly tail as if listening attentively.
He stroked her ears and seemed relaxed despite her 180 pounds pressing down on him, and she purred softly.
“She never purred for me,” I said as I descended the last step.
He looked up at me, surprised, over the chimera's head, finally noticing my presence. Then he gave the creature a couple of pats on her side, prompting her to get off the couch. When he stood up, his eyes swept over my entire body before focusing on my face.
“I bet you never sang to her,” he replied, picking some fur off his black sweatshirt.
“I have,” I grunted, watching Kiara rub against his hip.
I had sung to her before, but she'd never purred for me. That meant the chimera really liked him—a lot—which made me apprehensive. What if he left and she decided to go with him?
“You look better,” he observed, leading us to the table.
“I feel good, but I'm starving. How long did I sleep?”
“Thirty hours,” he replied, removing the cloth from the table to reveal a full spread.
“Wait, are you sure it was that long?”
“Yes. I tried to wake you so you could eat, but you were out cold. So I let you sleep and recover.”
We sat down, and I smiled at him with relief.
“Finally, it's over. Now things will go back to normal.”
As soon as I spoke, his expression turned serious.
Then I understood what those words meant, and my smile faded.
I searched my mind, and there it was—the bond.
Still weak, not fully restored, but already glowing faintly.
I didn't know how to feel about it, but I was definitely sad knowing things would go back to the way they were before.
I was afraid Zion would turn back into the cold, distant man I'd first met.
I grabbed a plate and started serving myself. There were two types of salads, rabbit meat, sautéed vegetables, and rice. While we ate, I watched him. He seemed to have returned to his usual serious expression, and even that familiar worry line creased his forehead.
“Thank you for the food,” I said, filling my plate for the second time. “I really was starving.”
He shrugged, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
“It's the least I could do for you.”
Lunch unfolded in silence, and I couldn't help but feel sad about the return of our old dynamic.
I avoided forcing Zion to talk since he no longer seemed as comfortable as before.
Still, I was tempted to ask about the photo on the sideboard, or about his shadow power, or anything that might chase away that treacherous silence.
But the questions stayed trapped in my mind, and as much as I wanted to say something, I couldn't speak. I was afraid of being pushed away.
When we finally finished, we cleaned up the kitchen and looked at each other, not knowing what to say.
I supposed we didn't need to say anything—he'd always preferred silence to my questions.
So I turned around, trying not to show my insecurity.
I climbed the stairs and closed the bedroom door, relieved to escape the awkward situation.
Since I couldn't stay still and felt claustrophobic after three days cooped up inside, I put on my workout clothes and arranged my hair in a Dutch braid that started at my hairline and continued to the top of my head, where it became a high ponytail.
In Drutes, women wore two braids like this, but doing that around here would be frowned upon—a custom of the enemy. So I'd adapted by wearing just one.
I put on my sneakers and headed downstairs excitedly, putting my earbuds in.
“Where are you going?” I jumped, nearly dropping the earbuds. I looked around and saw Zion leaning against the kitchen doorway, which was a surprise.
“For a walk. My body feels sluggish—I need to move around a bit.”
“Alone? You haven't recovered yet, and tomorrow is the sonar exam. You should rest.”
“I know, but it'll be a quick walk. I just want to get some fresh air.” “And avoid sitting at home stewing in the horrible silence between us,” I wanted to add, but I kept quiet. I walked toward the door but stopped, hesitant. “Do you want to come with me?”
“I do.”
“So, see you later...” I paused abruptly and raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Wait, you want to come with me?”
A mischievous smile spread across his lips, and I immediately dreaded what he was thinking.
“Remember our conversation about training?”
I narrowed my eyes, wary of where this was heading.
“I remember, but I still don’t have an answer.”
Actually, I wanted to avoid talking about it. I was determined not to have any difficult conversations with him.
“I’m not going to demand an answer. I just want to show you where we’ll be training. Want to see it?”
He seemed excited, barely able to contain himself, as if this were an invitation to something fun.
“Is it very far from here?”
“Depends on your point of view. For you, yes. For me, no.”
Excitement surged through me, a thrill I hadn’t felt in a long time. If it was that far, maybe it was outside the median walls—and I was dying to see what lay beyond.
“Alright! Let’s go see this place of yours.”
The moment I spoke, Kiara came bounding down the stairs, her tail whipping back and forth. She stopped at the door and gave us a pleading look.
“Does somebody want to come along too?” I asked, reaching over to scratch her head. Zion stared at her as if some silent conversation were passing between them. Then he gave in.
“You already know where to go,” he said, opening the door for her. “I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes.”
She just nodded and hurried out the door, racing down the street, her enormous form galloping across the asphalt.
Then she unfurled the white wings folded against the sides of her torso—each one stretching a meter when extended.
With a single powerful thrust, Kiara launched into the sky and shot toward the clouds, where curious eyes couldn’t bother her.
I stared open-mouthed at the monstrous creature disappearing into the blue horizon.
I’d only witnessed her spreading her wings a handful of times, and I was still amazed by her form and strength.
Sometimes I forgot there was a little monster living at home who could take down ten men with ease.
Zion disappeared somewhere behind me and returned a while later, dressed in his black training clothes. Unfortunately, the gloves were back, and I was already starting to suspect he wore them out of fear of touching me directly.
“Shall we?”
He extended a gloved hand toward me. I smiled to break the tension, then placed my hands in his.
“Let’s go.”
Without warning, he swept me up and shadow-walked us through.
We appeared on top of the inner wall, and the wind whipped through my ponytail, scattering strands across my face.
I gasped at the landscape, dizzy from the adrenaline coursing through my body.
From up here, I could see all the neighborhoods of the median region.
The gorgon district was the smallest, full of warehouses and shacks; then there was the human one, larger, simple, and gray; and finally the fae district, with its thousand colors.
The shadows swallowed us, and we reappeared in the fae neighborhood.
We jumped again, landing at the edge of the district, each leap bringing us closer to the wall.
Then we reappeared near the median wall.
Judging by the direction, we were heading west. One more jump and we were on some kind of fishing platform over a wide river, then we appeared on its bank.
Finally, he transported us to the corner of the outer wall.
When we arrived, Zion set my feet on the ground and didn’t let go for a long moment—which was a good thing, because I was staggering like a drunk. Shadow-walking made my stomach churn.
“Are you okay?” he asked once I finally stopped swaying in place. Which was kind of pathetic, since fae were supposed to have perfect balance.
“Better now,” I replied, blinking against the brightness. Then I looked around and my breath caught.