Chapter 14
JUNE
“Can you put your comb and face colors back in the cabinet when you’re done with them?” Ziv calls when he steps into the bathroom to shower.
I’m sitting on the edge of the bed, weaving my hair into a loose side braid. “Yes. Sorry,” I call back, trying to soften the bitter edge in my tone.
We haven’t slept together in two weeks. We haven’t so much as kissed.
Ever since Akkal called me tetra, Ziv and I agreed to slow things down for Akkal’s sake.
If we fail the second part of this test and I’m sent to pay for a crime I didn’t commit, I don’t want that sweet boy to suffer any more than necessary in my absence.
Which means the pillow barrier on the bed has been resurrected, and without the physical intimacy, Ziv and I are struggling to communicate, aka we’re driving each other up the fucking wall.
I can’t read him anymore. He’s back to the detached man of few words and lots of grunts. Then I get annoyed that he’s keeping me at a distance, and he, in turn, gets mad at me because this is what we agreed to, and I shouldn’t be mad if it’s what we agreed to.
The test is tomorrow, and at this point, I can’t wait. I want to know what my future holds, even if it’s imminent death. I’m tired of not knowing, and if I can’t even have mind-blowing sex with my favorite person while not knowing, then I just want to know, you know?
I go out into the family room where Akkal is rocking in his chair, humming a song to himself. There are toys scattered across the carpet from where he left them last night, and I ask him to help me pick them up.
Ziv curses under his breath as he steps on one. “Akkal! You need to pick up your toys before bed. There’s no excuse for this mess!”
“Don’t yell at him,” I bark back. “I let him go to bed before putting them away. If you want to snap at someone, snap at me.”
“Well, maybe next time, you could follow the rules of this house, rather than letting him do whatever he wants.”
I whirl on him, ready to bare my teeth. “Are you fu––”
A fist thumps against the door. Once, twice, three times. I’ve only heard that particular knock once before. Ziv opens the door, and standing there are the chancellor, Lord Forchan, and Dumb and Dumber.
Which means…