Off With His Head

23. I told you I took archery in high school

"Peyton." The knock on my door is accompanied by Zach's voice. "Are you in there?"

It's the evening after Zach and I's successful mission. Last night, when we arrived back, Zach immediately disappeared to go find Lideri and update him. I had spent a few hours trying to find the isolation rooms, before eventually giving up and heading to bed. Today had been spent in the training room, shooting arrow after arrow until Zach was confident that my aim had improved. He also made me run laps whilst holding my bow, to prove that I wouldn't trip over it again, which I did a couple of times, much to his amusement.

Is it weird that I'm almost starting to miss uptight Zach?

"No," I answer, unable to stop the smile from sliding onto my face. After the way Zach laughed at me today, it's nice to be able to tease him back a little.

"Okay, I will come back later."

"Wait," I call out. He could need to tell me something important and I don't want to chase him away. I jump up from my bed and run to the door, flinging it open to see Zach walking away down the hall. "I was joking."

"I know." He stops and turns around, looking back at me. "I assumed you were busy and didn't want to be disturbed."

"I'm not. I was just reading." I quickly close my door and make my way over to him.

His eyebrows quirk up, a soft smile playing on his face. "You know how to read?"

"I'm starting to regret teaching you sarcasm," I mumble. "Yes, I was reading up on Sir Edward Cartell."

"I assume you found the library then?"

"Yes." By pure accident I had stumbled upon it while trying to find my way to the isolation rooms last night. But I don't want to admit that to him.

It was a surprising find, as no one had ever mentioned it to me before. The large room was lined with shelves, all stocked with different books, some of which were personal journals of previous Hunters, others which contained details about the mythical creatures that roam the world. I had borrowed a few in the hopes of learning more about the organisation that I'm now involved in.

"That's wonderful. I probably should have taken you there sooner, but with everything going on, it completely slipped my mind. There's a wealth of knowledge in that room, it will do you good to read as many of those books as you can."

"I plan on it," I tell him. "Although I will miss bombarding you with questions, Zacharias."

He frowns, but doesn't correct me like he usually does. "I was wondering," he pauses as though he is unsure of his next words. "If you would like to take a walk with me?"

My eyes widen at his suggestion and I just manage to stop my jaw from falling to the floor. "Are you offering to willingly spend time with me outside of missions and the training rooms?"

"Don't make me regret it, Peyton. Just follow me." And with that he turns and strides up the hall. I quickly catch up to him, falling into step.

"So how have you been?" I ask when the silence becomes unbearably awkward.

"You mean, since I saw you at dinner an hour ago? I've been fine, thank you."

We lapse into silence again as he leads me down the halls, taking two lefts and then going down a small ladder. Our footsteps echo down the otherwise empty passageway, matched in a perfect rhythm. "Where are we going?" I ask after a while.

"For a walk," he answers.

Well, I know Zach's not the most talkative person in the world, but this is slightly uncomfortable. His shoulders are tense and his mouth set in a firm line. I can't help but wonder if it's because he dislikes my proximity or if it's because he's going to show me something terrible. My mind runs through all of the possibilities but none of them seem plausible.