I was wearing Zai's shirt and sitting at the dining room table while he cooked when RJ finally left his room and joined us. RJ looked... tired. He didn't say anything to Zai—he walked straight up to me and said:
"We need to talk."
I looked over to Zai for his opinion, but he was so focused on the food that he hadn't even noticed RJ enter the kitchen.
"Sure..." I replied.
"Not here. Follow me," RJ said. He started to walk away, but I stayed seated. Something about going off alone with another man just felt wrong...
"We're just going to talk, right?" I asked. RJ frowned, sighed, and nodded.
"Yeah. Just talk."
That's when I relented and followed him outside to the back porch. He sat on the steps. As soon as I looked into the backyard, I noticed a large, charred path through the trees. The air still smelled like smoke, and soot floated in the breeze.
"How long... are you planning to stay here?" RJ asked, cutting through my thoughts.
"I... thought I was welcome to stay as long as I wanted," I said cautiously.
"Not anymore," RJ corrected.
Was I being kicked out? I mean, I could look for housing, but I'd let myself get comfortable...
"I'm not kicking you out right now... but the sooner you leave, the better."
My heart panicked. This felt too much like what happened with Qon.
"Is it because you have feelings for me? I don't think it's fair to tell me to leave just because I don't want to be with you."
RJ paused, his mouth slightly open. Then he said:
"This isn't about my feelings. Our other two brothers are coming back soon, and it's better if you're not here when they arrive. Also... I've let you stay here long enough."
I felt embarrassed. I couldn't believe I yelled at him and was completely wrong about where he was going.
"I still need to hear Zai's opinion before I make a decision," I said.
RJ groaned.
"You don't get it. Zai will want you to stay no matter what. But he doesn't like our brothers, and they're unpredictable. I don't want anyone to get hurt."
RJ was rambling, but I stayed stubborn. I had to speak to Zai.
"We're married," I announced.
RJ paused, finally looking at my hand.
"...Lovely." He said flatly, then started coughing. "It's not lovely. It's not great. I hate that you did that!"
He wiped his mouth—and I saw blood. His nose started bleeding too, and his eyes were bloodshot. Then, without another word, he turned away and headed back inside—but not before punching the doorpost. The whole house shook and creaked.
I waited a minute before going inside. Oh... I forgot to ask what happened to the yard.
The food Zai had prepared was sitting on the counter. I heard Zai and RJ talking upstairs.
"You got married?""Yes. You know how I hate waiting," Zai replied."Well, while you were screwing around, our brothers called," RJ snapped."'Screwing around?'" Zai repeated with a smirk, then laughed. "Wow, that's a good one. You never miss a joke!""I knew you'd like that. Anyway... they're going to have something to say about you bonding with an Infaniyan.""They know better than to say it to my face," Zai said coldly."But what about Snowe? Do you think she'll still be safe here?"
I didn't hear Zai's response—I stopped eavesdropping and put some food on my plate.
RJ came downstairs first and left the house. Zai arrived not long after.
"Mmm... the food is good as usual. What kind of sausage is this?" I asked nervously. I hoped he hadn't noticed me listening.
"Doesn't matter," Zai replied. He stood next to me, leaned down, and kissed me deeply. His tongue ring brushing against my lips made me shiver.
"Snowe... if anyone bothers you, come to me. Right away."
I nodded.
"I will."
"Don't hide anything from me."
I nodded again, more rapidly.
"No worries here! I promise."
Zai clicked his tongue.
"Good. I'm trusting you." And then he pulled me into his arms, kissing me so deeply that my knees gave out. He gently lowered me onto the cool kitchen floor, his hands both firm and reverent as he slid the shirt — his shirt — up over my body.
Everything about him was slow, deliberate, and intense. The tension between us built with each touch, each breath, until he moved inside me. I clung to him as his rhythm deepened, his breath catching softly against my ear with every thrust. The sounds of our bodies, our moans and gasps, echoed through the room, grounding us in the moment, but my mind kept drifting. RJ could come back at any moment. Maybe it was this, the way Zai ignored everything and everyone but me, that made RJ think I should leave.
Zai didn't seem to care. He never did. And somehow, even with that nagging fear, it all disappeared under his touch. Eventually, all my thoughts went silent. He made it impossible to focus on anything but him.
It was an hour later when he stopped and fixed his clothes. I tugged the shirt I was wearing down and rolled onto my side.
"So... tomorrow, Cera and Valin will be here. They usually don't stay long," Zai said while lying down beside me, hugging me from behind.
"You're an animal!" I teased.
He chuckled.
"That's completely irrelevant. Are you even listening to me?"
How can he expect me to stop thinking about what we just did so suddenly?
"Snowe... I'm serious."
The smile in his voice vanished. I tensed up.
"I'm sorry. Why are they coming?"
Zai cuddled me closer.
"They've got business in town, and... we all bought this house together, so they have a right to stay here."
He sighed. That must be why RJ gave up on kicking me out—Zai owns the house, too.
"You should stay in my room while they're here."
"Haven't I been doing that anyway?" I replied snarkily.
"Are you talking back?" he asked, then tickled me until I rolled away, laughing.
"No, please! I get it! I won't be alone when they're here!"
Now facing each other, we smiled.
"I trust Rai because he can't lie to me. If I'm away for some reason, I know he'll watch over you." I nodded.
"...Cera can't feel pain, usually, and Valin gave up empathy, so... they're not the easiest to trust." I nodded, then a question popped into my head, so I asked,
"Oh yeah...Do you know what happened in the forest behind the house?"
Zai sighed.
"That... was from last night. While you were sleeping, Rai and I had a chat."
I glanced at him—no visible injuries. But I still asked,
"Are you okay?"
Zai laughed.
"Yeah. Rai loves me too much to hurt me."
That surprised me. He hadn't confirmed the reverse.
"Do you love RJ enough not to hurt him?"
Zai gave me a puzzled expression.
"Well... he's alive, isn't he? Before I met you, he was the only one I considered family."
I wondered if they fought because of me... but I felt too awkward to ask.
"By the way... You never told me what you gave up. For your power. You told me everyone else's sacrifice, so that's not fair." Zai stopped smiling and looked away. "I'll tell you what I was hiding before I left and why, if that helps," I offered in exchange.
"Let's get off the floor and go to the bedroom first."
I hesitated, thinking it was an excuse to ravage me again—but he'd already proven that room or location didn't matter. And honestly, his bed was way better than the floor.
So I followed him up the stairs—well, he carried me—and he set me gently on the bed before sitting in his desk chair across from me.
"Explain."
"I was thinking about going home... to my world. I got an email from IIC. I didn't want you to know, which was dumb because as soon as you found out, you took me there yourself. Even though you and RJ have been so kind to me, I still had prejudices. I didn't believe you'd help me get home. I'm sorry."
Zai rolled his eyes and leaned back.
"You're always apologizing."
Was he annoyed again?
"I can't hate anyone... When we were offered power in exchange for giving something up, I was so consumed by hate towards the king, toward myself for being weak—I gave up caring. It was that or die."
That explained why he said he didn't think of the king at all.
Tears streamed down my face. Zai rushed over to wipe them away.
"Why are you crying, silly?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "I'll... I'll hate him for you, Zai!"
He chuckled.
"No thanks. I don't want you to carry that burden. I already got some of my revenge... Why do you think I'm banished?"
I gasped. What did he do?
"I know that look—you're curious. Too bad, I'm done talking for today."
He held my cheeks. I kept my eyes open until our lips met. That day ended like the ones before it—us getting lost in newly wed bliss.
I wish Zai and I had grown up together. That neither of us had suffered, and we could've just enjoyed the bliss of being together.
The next morning, the doorbell woke me. That was unusual. It was too early for RJ's delivery orders.
Zai got out of bed, threw on his boxers and a hooded jacket, and went downstairs to answer it.
He returned a second later.
Did he even make it to the door? That was too fast!
He flopped face-down onto the bed and didn't move for an hour.
When he finally stirred, he looked at his arms, squinted, and said:
"The heck? Why am I wearing a hoodie?"
…Was he sleepwalking the whole time?!