Page 220 of Nemesync
He murmured, smiling against my head, “I love looking at your eyes, they talk more than you do.”
I couldn’t stop looking at them; they felt so real, more alive than my own eyes.
They weren’t numb with pain, not as empty as I usually saw them. “You made them feel alive,” I whispered back.
He kissed my neck, “You are alive, Zanae.” His voice sounded tired yet honest. “Try to sleep now. I’ll take care of Nikolai tomorrow.”
I kissed his hand before placing it on my heart and intertwining our fingers. “Thank you, Elijah.”
Feel your heart Z, you are alive.
I am alive.
At least, as long as I’m between his arms.
39
ELIJAH
“What do you mean she killed someone last night, Elijah?”
“She thought I was in danger. She thought you were in danger too. She needed to do it.”
Niko raised his voice even more, worry and anger burning in his eyes, “Eli, she killed a man in a bar! This is crazy; she cannot do that! She’s better than that, better than us!”
“Nikolai, calm down. Yelling won’t change anything. She made a choice, and now we deal with it. But let’s keep our voices down; she doesn’t need this right now.”
Niko shook his head. “Lei vuole farsi uccidere?”
“No, Niko. She doesn’t want to be fucking killed.”
Zanae’s delicate figure appeared before us, freezing us both in our tracks.
Niko spoke first, “What the fuck, Zanae? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You walked into a bar, killed a man, and put yourself at a fucking risk!”
My eyes bore into him, “Niko, don’t fucking raise your voice at her.”
Zanae stepped forward, slowly, carefully almost. “Let me explain.”
He took a deep breath, trying to rein in his emotions. “You can’t act without considering the consequences, Zanae. We’re a fucking team, for God’s sake.”
“Nikolai, not now. Zanae did what she thought was right. Let’s make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Zanae whispered, “I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to clean my mess. I’m sorry.” And then she went out on the balcony.
I grabbed Niko by the collar, “You fucking made her cry, you idiot. She didn’t even have time to explain herself.”
Niko tried to push me away, but I didn’t budge.
And after a long breath, he confessed, “Eli she’s like a sister to me this is not okay, she’s in danger and she’s not thinking straight!”
“Listen to me, Niko. I’m going to go get my woman, and you’re going to talk to her. No yelling, and you’re going to be kind. Do you hear me? She’s not in any mental state where she could just think straight, so get a hold of your damn-self.”
I gently released Niko before heading to the balcony where Zanae stood.
Quietly, I approached her and wrapped my arms around her waist. “Niko is just worried about you, you know. Just like I am. But he isn’t as weak for you as I am,Milaya,” I murmured.
She sighed, leaning against me. “You’re right. It’s just... I couldn’t let that woman threaten June, Miranda, Ben, him, and even you. I had to do something.”
