31. Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter thirty-one
We jolt awake and apart at the sound of voices and scraping rocks as Drea and Xaavi work their magic to get us free.
The two of them, along with Nav and Lira, rush to check us over the second it’s safe.
The Remedy healer marvels at the two small, red-ringed puncture wounds on Cayzenn's wrist, the only evidence of a hellish night.
"Are you sure it was an arivenne, Alyxia? "
I nod. “Pretty sure—not that I’ve ever seen one outside of books before.”
She turns to an exhausted Cayzenn, and we watch green-tinted magic flow from her hand underneath his skin.
She has the kind of power I would've ended up with if the Ritual hadn't gone so wrong.
Strong magic, the closest thing to true healing any Wielder has—able to detect, diagnose, stop blood flowing from wounds, and even speed up the body's natural healing.
Not to mention, an incredible affinity for plants and all their uses.
In seconds, Lira withdraws her magic, exclaiming, "I don't understand how you're not still unconscious. The fever must have been so bad, it burned all the venom out of your system. There’s no trace of it." Her surprise makes me wonder if Varistia somehow did more than just freeze that pool.
I trudge up the path to the hot pools for what feels like the millionth time to wash off the grime, sweat, and blood, changing into the fresh clothes Willa sent up for me. I triple check I have my rings before we slowly make our way down to the campsite, Lira's eyes firmly fixed on both of us.
Grateful my split lip has fully healed, I eat the lunch Drea hands me, too tired for words as I crawl into the tent and pass out without taking off my boots.
When I tiptoe out of the tent early the next morning, the first thing I see is my favorite grey mug warming on a stone by the glowing embers. I scoop it up and walk silently over to where Cayzenn sits on a thick blanket on the far side of the fire, watching me with a small smile.
Unlike every other morning, he stops playing the glossy guitar only long enough to let me through his shield and fill my mug with coffee.
I settle in opposite him, the music making me flush at the memory of singing to him last night.
Hopefully, the fever wiped any recollection of it from his mind, along with the venom.
We sit and watch the stars to the sounds of strumming, or rather, he watches the stars, and I mostly watch the way his hands slide across the strings and the muscles in his arm flex as he plays. When he catches me staring for the third time, he stops playing. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”
“Morning.” I smile. “Still a little sore, but not too bad. Then again, I’m not the one who almost died last night. How are you?”
He laughs. “Also not too bad. I don't really remember most of what happened after that damn thing bit me. Thanks for not letting me die.”
"You're welcome." I savor the rich coffee scent and much-needed energy hitting my bloodstream. "It was my fault you had to go back and that the rock slipped, so it was the least I could do."
"Are you incapable of just accepting it without deflecting when someone says something nice?"
Cheeks heating, I look away. "Not really used to it, I guess. Besides, you saved me on that damn climbing wall, so now we're even. Thank you for that, by the way. I know you stayed back to climb with me in case I fell again too."
"Don't paint me as an angel just yet. I wasn't being altruistic, climbing behind you. I figured the view would be pretty exceptional." He shrugs one shoulder, the picture of innocence, and my mouth falls open when I catch on.
"Zenn!" I whack his arm, making him throw his head back and howl with laughter.
"Look at that. You finally stopped using my full name."
"Oh, I can go back to Commander if you prefer?" I swear, the man actually shudders.
"Please don't."
"How's the wrist this morning?"
"Come see for yourself." He sets the guitar aside and pats the space next to him. When I hesitate, he adds, "I'll top up your coffee." I slide over, grinning when he scowls playfully. "I knew it, using me for my caffeine supply."
Balancing the mug on a mostly flat stone, I pull his hand into the light, turning it palm up to inspect the tiny marks from the animal bite while ignoring the feel of his smooth skin under my fingertips.
"It really did completely heal overnight.
" I say, all too aware of his leg pressing against mine.
His voice is a low murmur when he replies. "You'd think I'd be more intrigued by how that's even possible, considering I should apparently still be unconscious. And yet…"
I twist to face him. We're so close now, too close. Or maybe not close enough. "And yet?"
"And yet, the only thing I've been able to think about since I woke up is how much I want to change your answer from yesterday."
I try to come up with a witty reply, but my mind has gone blank, completely devoid of words, preoccupied by those full lips and what they might feel like on mine. The longing intensifies when his gaze heats and drops to my mouth, lingering like he's thinking the same.
This is reckless.
We should stop.
Gods, I hope he doesn't.
Zenn reaches out to trace a finger down my cheek, hooking it under my chin to tilt my face closer to his.
I feel his hot breath against my mouth. All I can manage is a soft sigh, and as much as I want to drown in the multitudes of blues in his eyes this close up, my eyelids drift shut when he closes the distance and gently brushes his lips against mine in a whisper of a kiss.
A loud pop from the fire makes us jump apart, struck by an icy jolt of reality. What are we doing? "Fuck," Zenn hisses, rubbing a hand over his face. "Sorry, that shouldn't…this can't happen."
"I know." He's right, even if it stings a little.
"It's too complicated. You're in my squad, you're my sister's best friend, and then there's the whole bloodline bullshit."
"It's fine. Don't worry about it. Nothing even happened," I reply, trying to make my voice sound lighthearted. "We can be…friends."
"Friends?" He scowls so hard I hide a smile behind my mug.
"I'm not usually this attracted to my friends, but sure, let's go with that.
" He jumps to his feet, guitar in hand, and I follow him up.
Our eyes meet for a brief flash, and he must see the reassurance he's looking for, because one corner of his mouth curves up into a sheepish smile. "We're good?"
"Absolutely," I reply brightly, and he looks relieved, stretching his arms up over his head, revealing a strip of tawny skin above his waistband that does nothing to quiet the spark of fizzing awareness dancing through my body. “Just so you know, that didn’t count.”
Zenn laughs, “Oh, I know." Dropping the shield, he must flick the key on his guitar, because it shrinks down into his palm, disappearing into his pocket as he ducks into the tent, leaving me hollow.
I really shouldn't want that man, but I do.
Not that it matters—want is not a good way to make decisions, especially the ones with such messy consequences.
Judging by the way those soft training pants were definitely tighter in certain areas when he stretched, at least I get to console myself with knowing this irritating attraction isn't one-sided, even if it can never be anything.
My chances of getting to Bri in the next three weeks, in time to find out and potentially stop whatever she's up to, are slipping away. The weeks we’ve spent away from Raviaz have passed in a flash while feeling eternal.
Training sessions are becoming slightly more manageable, though Zenn still insists on pushing me to my limits every day.
We haven’t spoken about the almost kiss, and he went right back to being the stoic Commander, as if it and the night in the cave never happened. I follow his lead and act the same, even if the memories play on a loop during the silent hours of hiking.
Right now, I’d give anything to go back to the open expanse of snow and mountains we’ve been traversing instead of crawling under spiky bushes through deep, gluey, frigid mud.
The only thing I’m grateful for while navigating this filth is the lack of serpents in Atafye.
Having seen pictures of their slithering scaly bodies and forked tongues in some of the oldest books in the Zel library, I doubt I would've coped very well with coming across one of them.
"Wait up. Map must be wrong. This is a dead end. It’s just a steep drop, too far to attempt a jump.
Let me double back and check," Hendrix calls loudly from the front of our single file line, barely visible through the low tangle of leaves and branches. When we found the entrance to this so-called trail concealed beneath thick foliage and realized we'd be crawling, he just tied back his messy brown hair and led the way without complaint. I don’t even think I’ve seen the man frown.
Leaning around Willa and Xaavi, I watch Hendrix crawl backward and decide to veer to the left onto another supposed path.
Recognizing this next part is likely about to get more difficult.
I'm trying to find a cleaner part of my leathers to wipe my splattered face and improve visibility when a terror-filled shout stops me in my tracks.
Jeska screams, and we surge forward in time to see her laying on her belly, head and shoulders disappearing into what looks like a huge hole in the ground.
Zenn roars from somewhere behind me, frantically demanding to know what's going on.
The bushes are growing too tight to break through, so he can't get up here to help, not until all of us in front move out of the way somehow.