Alicia had let him put a sock on her feet, knowing the urgency in his actions. When she pushed her feet inside the shoe, Ezekiel efficiently tightened and tied up the laces. Yesterday, she was barefooted during their entire trip, so she was glad that she had something more comfortable to wear this time. She just wanted to be ready for anything that might come at them from here on out. Because she did not have any plans to just stand around and watch Ezekiel fight, all for the sake of protecting her.

  "Here," he handed her a gun that he had pulled out of the bag as he stood up. Well, that was a surprise as she blinked at him. Had he read her mind that no matter what, she was no longer going to be a docile and helpless lady standing to the side anymore?

  She grabbed the gun so fast as if she was afraid that he would change his mind.

  "Can this gun kill vampires?" Alicia asked as she peered at him through her lashes.

  "I'm not giving this to you to kill vampires, Alicia. So don't go aiming at their hearts if in case you do need to defend yourself."

  "You don't want me to kill them… understood." Alicia nodded as she returned her gaze down to study the gun. Witches never use guns because they never had the need to. Their spells were more useful than guns – more powerful, faster and more accurate. Not to mention that the witches do not like the loud ricocheting noise it makes every time the gun was fired.

  "I can't let you use your spells because it will only drain more power from me. I've prepared this. So… use this instead." he said as he put his hand on the doorknob, entwined his fingers with hers before he pushed open the door.

  Alicia could only glance at the small but now memorable place before the door closed behind her. She silently wished that they had a bit more time to spend in there. It was such a short but wonderful slice of heaven for her.

  They left the forest and within a few minutes, they were turning into a highway. Alicia kept glancing over at him, noting that Ezekiel's expression had stayed stoic and unreadable since they stepped out of that cabin.

  "Where are we going this time?" Alicia asked him in a low voice. She knew he had heard her even though there was no indication that he had.

  "You'll know when we get there." Was all he replied.

  …
In Zeres' apartment.

  The sun was streaming through the window when Iryz finally woke up. She was feeling much better now. Her wounds were healing so much faster as well, and she could not help but wonder at how quick her healing is going.

  Looking around, Iryz's gaze settled on the tall stack of books on the floor. She had imagined Zeres sitting on the floor again with his leg bent and sleeping. But this time, he was not there as he usually was. Which was rare thing in Zeres' case.

  Iryz moved to climb off the bed and headed straight to the bathroom to freshen up. Lately, Zeres had been too protective. He insisted on having someone assist her even with her bath and everything. He worries about everything as if… as if she was someone dear to him. Honestly, Iryz was a bit overwhelmed by all the attention. It was because no one had ever treated her like this before. But then, she reminded herself not to think too much into it. She did not want to misunderstand and read too much into Zeres' actions towards her.

  Zeres was treating her this way now because he believes that her situation right now was his fault. And that was because Zeres was actually a kind though broken being. That was all. So she would not dare raise her hopes up. Or she might just get hurt in the end.

  She stared at herself in the mirror and saw how awful her body looked like now with the still healing wounds all over her skin. Her face was… it still looked…… unsightly.

  Closing her eyes to stop seeing that unpleasant sight, Iryz took a deep breath. The whips marks all over her had reminded her about that scene again. And then the bathroom suddenly seemed to turn into that room where she goy tortured. Dark, suffocating and… it was getting harder for her to breathe.

  Before she knew it, she ran out of the bathroom. She did not want to see herself in the mirror. She did not want to remember that scene. She did not want to…
She froze in place as she stood outside the door. Completely naked and dripping wet from the shower.

  Zeres was standing there, eyes wide as he looked at her in that state.

  The next thing she knew, he was already before her, wrapping a blanket around her. Then he pulled her against him in a comforting hug, his hands rubbing up and down her back, trying to impart warmth to her.

  "It's okay… I'm here." he whispered comfortingly and Iryz shut her eyes closed again, taking slow and deep breaths as she tried her best to calm down, telling herself that she was safe and no longer in that abandoned place where she had been tortured.

  She did not know how long time had passed, but she found herself sitting at the edge of the bed. Zeres had made her drink some water and hugged her until her breathing was back to normal.

  "I'm… alright now. Thank you." she said and Zeres's hand finally stopped caressing her.

  She liked his warmth. Loved it, in fact. But she knew she could not be greedy and take advantage of his kindness in this situation. Reminding herself that this man … he was not hers. Impossible to be hers. No matter how much she wanted that fact to be true.

  He pulled away and surveyed her face. He looked concerned and serious, but Iryz blushed hard because she just remembered that… oh gosh… he had seen her totally naked just now!

  She buried her face into her palms, wishing that she could just disappear right now. Gosh!! Oh gosh! How could she let him see… and her body was full of ugly wounds and whip marks too!!