Page 42 of Dawn to Dusk
Ziam shook his head, taking a deep breath. “Enchan—”
“Neither of you may speak to me anymore.” I turned on my heel and stomped away before I revealed anything unpleasant to them.
That evening when I went to my room, both Ziam and Edur were waiting outside my door. They stared at me like lost babes. Edur blocked my door with his huge body.
“That will not help anything.” Ziam glared at Edur.
I pressed my fingertip to Edur’s chest, letting my warmth grow and roll over him like a sun beating down on the desert without a sip of water in sight. He started sweating but stubbornly held his ground. I upped the temperature again, affecting the entire hall.
“Move,” I commanded Edur.
“Listen to me.” His chest heaved under the heat, but he refused to comply.
“You don’t make demands here.” I forced more depth into my voice, raising the heat level a few more degrees. If he kept this up, I would burn him. Bastard. I used a solid wave of heat to surprise him, knocking him off his feet and onto his ass. I calmly stepped over his body, went into my room, and locked it behind me.
He knocked on my door. “Sunshine.”
“Go.” I told him.
Being the fully grown beast he was, his resolution was to be louder. He banged on my door with deafening thumps that rattled the hinges, keeping a rapid cessation in an attempt to drive me mad with the noise. All the while, he argued with Ziam about what the best line of action to deal with me was. I couldn’t hear either of their points over the ruckus, but I knew they weren’t holding hands out there.
“Quit that!” Balthazar snarled, and everything went quiet. Their hushed whispers were the only reason I knew they were still there.
I couldn’t focus on my book, instead I glared at my door, willing them to go poof. Unfortunately, I didn’t actually know aspell to do that. My finger tapped on the leather cover, unable to recall one word I read that evening.
Eventually, they gave up, and I went to bed dreaming about absent men and their audacity.
Years of dealing with Edur taught me his tenacious nature wasn’t to be underestimated. So, the next morning, I changed the rotations I normally worked in, and put together an impromptu scent neutralizer that was decent enough to get the job done. I managed to avoid both men, despite three separate close calls where Ziam almost snuck up on me. Avoiding Mr. Stompy trampling through the woods was much easier.
I called it quits early so I could beat them to my room. Gifts sat nestled against my door. None of this made any sense. There were bouquets of flowers, baskets of sweets, and boxes of who knew what else sitting outside my door after I mostly made peace with their absence.
Jerks. The whole lot of them.
I opened my door, stepping in without sparing the pretty packages another glance. Enough was enough. I refused to let them browbeat me into listening to whatever nonsense they wanted to sell me.
I grabbed a travel bag, loaded up a week's worth of supplies, and prepared a note to slip under Balthazar’s door in the morning to warn him of my impending absence. Camping out in the woods sounded like a much better plan than this.
Maybe I was not meant to have meaningful relationships.
Something was clearly wrong with me. At least back where I was from, I could say it was because I lived a lie. Here, Ithought I made a few friends. Surely, Calida and Drakko were not the only friends I would ever have.
These men teased me with companionship, then ripped it away from me. No more.
Chapter 16:
Ziam
“She’s gone again.”
“She left a note for Balthazar this morning warning him that she would not be back for some time.” Edur grumbled in irritation.
His claim wears off, and she goes into hiding. Was there some divine decree that said I could not have too much happiness? “What is some time?”
“The water witch said Esmerey was carrying enough supplies to survive for at least a few weeks.”
“This is your fault.”
“My fault?! You said you told her.” He sure was quick to point fingers at everyone but himself.
