Chapter 56
That night, we didn’t go to the Dornéu. Instead, we headed down to the basement since it was freezing outside.
The house had two ways in, but the main entrance was through the reading room.
We went through, turned on the lights, and descended a wooden staircase that creaked with every step.
The floor was covered in soft rubber made to look like a tatami mat, and against one wall hung a large red punching bag.
We rearranged the room to make space for training and got into position.
Zion taught me more ways to escape if I got taken down during a fight, and despite the cold, my body was burning as I sat on top of his abs trying to break free.
Things only got worse when he was the one on top of me, showing me how to win from that position.
Turns out, when we did that, escaping was the last thing on my mind.
It was his fault for whispering all those indecent things in my ear.
Now he was focused on teaching, and I was miserably trying to pay attention only to the moves and not to his body pressed against mine.
But it was hard—by the gods, he smelled so good.
All I could think about was putting my hands on his abs to check if they were still as firm as I remembered.
“Have you worked out your strategy for the test yet?” he asked, taking a break to drink some water.
“Yes,” I replied, sitting on the third step of the stairs.
“Run through the plan for me.” He tipped the entire bottle back into his mouth. I caught myself feeling jealous of that little bottle.
“Now?” It didn’t seem like a good time—I was too busy thinking about his lips. He frowned at me, then set the bottle down beside me.
“Yes, I want to hear it. I can’t come up with it for you, but I can give you some tips.”
“I’ll tell you if you let me braid your hair while I do.” He frowned, undecided. I patted the step below me. “Deal.”
Zion walked over, letting his hair down, and finally sat down, a bit reluctantly. I buried my fingers in his soft, silky strands. What did they call girls who liked men with long hair? “Shampoo Mary.” Yeah, I think I’d become a Shampoo Mary.
“My plan is to spend the first day running toward the center. I heard there usually aren’t any vials in the first part of the area. So I’ll use the first day to run, look for water, and try to hunt something to eat,” I said, starting a tiny braid on the side of his head.
“Good. Continue.”
Zion leaned back against my stomach, relaxing.
“On the second day, I’ll look for the vials, since the middle of the course should be where they are. As soon as I find one, I’ll run straight to the last section. I’ll also try to find some of my friends.”
“It would be good if you found each other, but I have to tell you not to go looking. Besides wasting time, you might run into people you shouldn’t.
” He shifted and tried to turn to face me, but I tugged on his braid, keeping him in place.
“And if you come across a group of students who want your vial? What are you going to do?”
“I’ll fight.”
“Wrong. You run.”
“Run? But what about everything you’re teaching me about fighting and defense?”
“You only fight when it’s absolutely necessary.
You need to conserve energy and avoid getting hurt, since you won’t have your gift.
If you see anyone, run. Everyone there will be trying to take your vial, and it’ll glow, drawing the attention of anyone within twenty meters.
Not to mention fae males are more affected by Lúmiran and could seriously hurt you. ”
“But doesn’t fighting give me extra points on the test?”
“Yes, but your goal is just to get the vial and get out of there as fast as possible. You just need to pass—you already have good grades on the other exams.”
“Okay, so I run. On the third day, I’ll just keep running until I reach the meeting point.”
I finished another braid and flipped it aside.
“In areas two and three of the test, there’s not much clean water. There are hallucinogenic plants that grow at the bottom of the lakes in that region. So don’t risk drinking lake water—taste it first, and if it tastes like iron, spit it out and keep looking.”
Zion went quiet for a moment, his eyes clouding with weariness and worry. It was so obvious that I had to ask:
“Is something wrong?”
He stayed quiet for a moment, then sighed.
“No. That’s normal for the tests—some years the toxicity level isn’t even noticeable. But it’s good to stay alert and treat every spring as if it’s contaminated.” He paused and seemed reluctant to continue, fidgeting with my shoelace.
“What’s bothering you?”
“It reminds me that we’ve been having problems with toxic water beyond the borders.
It worries me because the contamination seems to be linked to the attacks…
” Zion stopped and turned to face me. Then he forced a smile, wiping the worry from his expression.
“Anyway, it’s nothing you need to worry about.
These are army problems, and the test will be protected by the millennial barrier. ”
Something was clearly wrong—very few things worried Zion like this—but he continued before I could ask.
“There's a type of flower called Ocean Rose.
It stores rainwater and is safe to drink, but they're rare, and some students probably already know about them and will be searching. It grows on top of trees—blue on the outside, pink inside—and holds about 200 ml of water. Not much, but it helps a lot.”
“Blue flower, pink inside, avoid water that tastes metallic,” I repeated to myself.
“And where do you plan to sleep for the two nights you'll be there?”
“I'm still thinking about that. Where did you sleep when you took the test?” He was quiet for a moment, his fingers tracing my calf before he started massaging it.
“At night, predators come out to hunt. Tigers, mountain lions, bears...
You can never stay somewhere exposed, and if you have a vial, it'll be impossible to hide it before dawn.
Nighttime is when you spot where they glow so you can search for them in the morning, but if you're carrying one, other people will see it too.
You need to hide somewhere that muffles the glow. So tell me—what's the best spot?”
He massaged my leg, his long fingers moving up and down from my ankle to my knee.
I could barely think. Even though I was wearing thick pants and he was just absently massaging while we talked, his touch sent tingles across my skin, and in my imagination, those fingers wandered to far less appropriate places.
He turned and caught me watching his hands.
“Focus, Kyller,” Zion said, snapping me back. “If you don't stop looking at me like I'm a popsicle waiting to be unwrapped and sucked, I swear I'm going to lose control and let you treat me exactly like one.”
I snapped out of my daydream, straightening up. I sighed, trying to clear my head, but today there was no hiding my attraction to his body. I forced myself to focus on the test.
“A place to stay that isn't exposed. I think a tree branch would be perfect.”
“A branch is good, but it won't hide the vial's glow, and it won't protect you from the cold wind and snow.”
“A cave?” I asked uncertainly, but where the hell would I find a cave?
“That would be perfect, but an animal could find you. There's only one cave in the entire area, and you might end up far from it. So you need a backup plan—something that's available everywhere.”
“I don't know.” I thought of several options, but in the middle of a forest with no materials, it seemed impossible to find a high spot where I could conceal myself.
“Then do some research. You have a week to figure it out,” he said, standing up. His little braids fanned out in all directions.
“Wait, you're not going to tell me?”
“No. If I told you, I'd be helping you more than I should, and that's cheating.”
He tied up his braided hair. Beautiful didn't even begin to describe what I saw. Something nostalgic stirred in the back of my mind. In my dreams, my father wore braids like that.
“No one will know,” I whispered, as if we were committing a crime. He smiled back, extending a hand to me.
“I'll know, and that's enough.” He helped me up. “Do some research. The answer is easy—you of all people should know.”
“And if I don't figure it out?”
“You will.” He gave me a half smile, positioning himself for another round of sparring.
Δ
When training ended, we went upstairs and headed straight for the showers.
Dinner was already on the table—Zion had arranged for a neighborhood restaurant to bring food every night so we wouldn't have to worry about cooking.
Freshly showered, pajamas on, socks on my feet, and a towel wrapped around my head, I sat down to eat.
Kiara, who followed me everywhere, lay at my feet, warming them.
She'd already eaten, but she stayed there hoping I'd drop something.
I didn't mind—I liked to think of her as a walking vacuum cleaner, since there'd never be crumbs on the floor.
“So?” I asked eagerly. “Where's my surprise?”
“In my room.” Zion gave me a relaxed smile.
“Can you give me a hint?”
“It's nothing much, my sunshine.” He took a sip of wine. “It's a gift I wanted to give you because I'm your familiar in the rite.”
I kept quiet, eating. He probably wouldn't say anything more. My legs wouldn't stay still under the table, and the chimera kept trying to catch my toes as I fidgeted.
“How was your rite?” I asked.
He looked at me thoughtfully while chewing, then set down his utensils and reached out to take my hands.
“Are you nervous?”
“A little,” I confessed. “Actually, 'little' might not be the right word. More like 'a lot' or 'very much.' An infinity of 'very much' might express it better.”
He smiled at my exaggeration and brought my fingers to his lips, kissing them one by one. His lips were soft, but instead of calming me, the gesture left me even more euphoric.
“Serguei was my familiar in the rite. We performed it at his apartment.”