In the Shadows~zayn au~Completed ✅EDITING

~Chapter 62: Fire and Ice~

How's everyone holding up? I know this is a difficult part of the story. These characters are like my babies and their pain is my pain, so I understand completely. I'll tell you this: things WILL work out. Maybe not in the way you expect, but things will work out in the end, no matter what goes wrong. Keep that in mind as this progresses, kapeche? Love you all!

"Princess." A voice stirred her. "It's sunset. Would you like to continue on?" Zayn didn't shake her or touch her, a good idea on his part.

She didn't answer, simply standing and packing up her blankets to put in her saddle bag.

"I've already saddled your horse," he continued. "You can just place your bags on and I'll tie them down."

Looking at him would just be painful, but she did it anyway, turning to him briefly.

His face looked a bit sunken and there were dark circles under his eyes. Yesterday she would have been concerned if he'd gotten any sleep, but she stayed silent and simply looked at him. He returned her gaze and what she couldn't accept in his words she saw in his face. He was sorry.

Was that enough, though? She was still so angry. After all they'd been through he had still actively chosen to keep it from her. That was what she'd been sensing all along, his trepidation when she questioned him about Thomas' hostility.

She saw that sorrow and didn't want it, so she spun from him and made her way to Starling, carrying the blankets wrapped up. After she had slung them up onto the horse's back, Zayn tied them down as promised.

They started forward, walking the horses as the last of the light faded over the horizon. Kalysta was glad for the darkness. It hid her perpetually leaking eyes and allowed her to contemplate it all without the eyes of those blasted men on her. She led the way again, headed due north, with only the moon to allow for visibility.

The more she contemplated, the sadder she became. No, they hadn't made promises and no, she hadn't expected their little affair to be the thing of legends, but was it too much to ask for human decency? This was such an important piece of information to leave out.

She decided that she was done crying. He had chosen to keep it from her, he had made a fool of her, but she could take control of her life again. Upon returning to Elysium she would find out the whole truth and finish the negotiations for the marriage treaty. And she would refuse to work with Zayn. Rulers did that sometimes. She could demand to work directly with Niall himself. That would save her from making a further fool of herself.

She would do what was necessary.

Morning light brought with it the sight of Port Arcanum, the coastal Velian city they had stopped at for supplies all those days ago. She had the discomfiting feeling that it had been weeks and weeks ago, not just days.

They rode around the city, not bothering to enter. No one approached them as they did not come near the city. Kalysta preferred it that way. She wasn't sure if she could keep up this farce for much longer, not with how everything had turned out.

"How are we to signal the ship?" she asked as they neared the shore.

"I'll take care of that," Zayn acknowledged, digging in his packs. He grabbed what appeared to be a small looking glass (A/N: old-fashioned speak for a mirror and yes, hardee har har, Zayn is carrying a mirror, and no, he isn't extremely vain lol). It took him a moment, but he moved it so it reflected the light out to sea. He moved the glass back and forth several times.

"What will that accomplish?" Kalysta asked skeptically. "We can't even see them. Won't we have to wait until they come closer to shore?"

"Our visibility is limited," Mahir answered. "We may not be able to see them, because our vantage point is lower to the level of the sea. We can see about a mile at the moment, but they could be anchored about three miles out and the man in the crow's nest still be capable of seeing the shore. If they're where they're supposed to be then they should be able to see us easily. They'll have a boat out here to ferry us to the Partheos before the end of the day."